5 STEPS SOCIAL SECURITY USES TO DECIDE IF YOU ARE DISABLED

 

When you file a new application for disability benefits, Social Security will use a five-step sequential process to decide if you are eligible for payments.

1. Social Security will determine whether you are now working at "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA) - which is defined in 2021 as earning wages of at least $1,310 per month, gross. If you are, you are not entitled to a disability benefit.

2. Do you have a severe, medically determinable impairment? This impairment should have lasted for at least 12 continuous months, be expected to last for at least 12 straight months, OR to end in death.

3. Social Security will determine if you meet a listing in their Blue Book. These listings are very difficult to meet, so most claimants will not meet a listing. You may still get benefits, however.

4. In Step 4, they must determine whether you can perform any of your Past Relevant Work (PRW) -- defined as any job you performed in the past 15 years--and performed it long enough to do the job satisfactorily. They also only count jobs where you earned "Substantial Gainful Activity" wages for the years involved.

5. In the final Step, Social Security will decide whether you are able to perform any other work which exists in the US economy. This is the step that disqualifies most claimants. Even if you are not able to perform any past work, they may find that you can perform other "less demanding" jobs. This step works against younger individuals who are under age 50. If you are under age 50, you cannot meet a Medical-Vocational Guideline or " grid rule" which directs a finding of disability based on a combination of your age, education, skills, residual functional capacity and past work experience.

You may gather that Social Security disability is a rather technical, complicated matter that doesn't involve much luck. It uses a strict formula.

In the initial application process, only about 25 percent of claimants are approved. The first stage of appeals is called "Reconsideration," and the approval rate there is even more dismal. Your best chance will be at a Hearing level appeal before an Administrative Law Judge or ALJ. Claimants who are represented by an attorney are 3 times more likely to win at the Hearing level, compared to claimants who are not represented. And most claimants only get ONE HEARING.

Using an attorney or advocate who understands how to use medical evidence, vocational factors, skill levels, grid rules, and listings is crucial to success. There is a good reason why a large legal specialty has grown up around Social Security cases. The reason is: these lawyers get results for their disabled clients. ______________

 Published by

The Forsythe Firm

Huntsville, AL 35806

PHONE (256) 799-0297 FREE CONSULTATIONS. NO UPFRONT FEE 

Social Security Scams

About every 8 seconds a senior becomes victim of a Social Security scam in the United States.

 Millions of scam calls are made very day, all designed to steal your private information or rob you of your money.

Any of the following warning signs spell SCAM.......

If a caller.......

• Threatens to suspend your Social Security number, even if they have part or all of your Social Security number
• Warns of arrest or legal action
• Demands or requests immediate payment
• Requires payment by gift card, prepaid debit card, internet currency, or by mailing cash
• Pressures you for personal information
• Requests secrecy
• Threatens to seize your bank account
• Promises to increase your Social Security benefit
• Tries to gain your trust by providing fake "documentation," false "evidence," or the name of a real government official

...it is a SCAM!

CHANCES OF GETTING DISABILITY BENEFITS WITHOUT A LAWYER?

 

34 percent of claimants who don't have a lawyer get approved for Social Security disability benefits.

60 percent of claimants who have a lawyer get approved for Social Security disability benefits.

Thus, your odds virtually double with a lawyer.

You will never pay for legal assistance unless you are approved and receive a back-pay settlement. That's because your lawyer's fee must come from the back pay. If there is no back-pay there is no fee. No win - No fee.

__________

The Forsythe Firm

Social Security Disability Law

7027 Old Madison Pike NW

Huntsville, AL 35806

PHONE (256) 799-0297

 

Free Consultations with No Obligations