It’s apparent to every individual who decides to file for social security disability or SSI disability that an applicant must have an impairment of some kind, either physical or mental in nature, or a combination of impairments (that may be physical, mental, or both). Furthermore, the great majority of applicants for SSD and SSI benefits realize that the strength of an adult’s claim will hinge on the extent to which their ability to engage in work activity will be affected.

However, few disability claimants typically have any concrete idea as to how the social security administration, through its use of judges and claims examiners, actually makes the determination as to whether or not a claimant can work.

The answer is actually fairly simple. Disability adjudicators, the individuals who make decisions on claims (judges and examiners) evaluate a claimant’s medical records to ascertain if their impairment is severe. The records are also evaluated in an attempt to learn how the claimant’s condition functionally limits them and interferes with their ability to perform work activity. By rating a person’s current abilities and limitations, and then comparing this rating to what was required in the jobs previously held by the claimant, social security can determine whether or not a return to past work is possible. Social security also uses the claimant’s work history information and their medical information to determine if the claimant might be found capable of performing some other type of work, assuming they cannot return to their past work.

However, one overriding factor in this process is whether or not the claimant worked and received earnings (or is currently working and receiving earnings) at the substantial gainful activity level. As this segment explains, SGA is a monthly earnings limit that cannot be exceeded by anyone filing for disability or receiving disability benefits. The amount is indexed to the cost of living and, therefore, does change annually.

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Social Security Disability Eligibility
Filing for Disability
Will I be Found Disabled for Social Security Disability?
Social Security Disability Claim Decisions
Applying for Disability with Fibromyalgia and Fibrofog
Lupus and Social Security Disability Benefits

It’s not uncommon for individuals who are filing for disability, under either the title II social security disability or title 16 SSI disability benefit program (or both if their application is concurrent) to wonder if they can receive benefits for partial disability, or if they can receive temporary disability benefits.

In either case, the answer is no. Social security uses a definition for disability, and for the approval of claims, that requires that a claimant be so affected by their condition that they are rendered unable to work and earn what is referred to as a substantial gainful income. For the social security administration, this standard of disability equates with total disability.

That does not mean, of course, that an individual who is filing for disability, or an individual who is actually receiving disability benefits, cannot work and earn income at the same time. In actuality, a claimant can work in either situation as long as their gross monthly earnings do not exceed the allowable limit set for that particular year. However, having said that, an individual who is filing for disability may wish to consider the fact that disability adjudicators (disability examiners at the first two levels of the system, and disability judges at the hearing level) are human beings and very often (or most often) their decisions have a subjective component to them.

That being the case, the fact that a claimant is continuing to work may influence how they are rated in terms of functional capacity, as well as the outcome of a case. This may be even truer when it comes to disability claims that are predicated, for the most part, on mental allegations.

Other Posts

Social Security Disability Eligibility
Filing for Disability
Will I be Found Disabled for Social Security Disability?
Social Security Disability Claim Decisions
Applying for Disability with Fibromyalgia and Fibrofog
Lupus and Social Security Disability Benefits

In this segment, the topic of filing for disability is addressed; more specifically, the steps to filing for disability (either in the SSI disability program, social security disability program, or, in the case of a concurrent benefit application, both programs) are given coverage.

The segment discusses the fact that applications for disability can be filed online using the social security administration website, however it also points out that this only applies to social security disability applications and not to SSI disability applications. For many claimants, the most effective, most informative, and least confusing method of application may simply be to directly contact a local social security office and set up an appointment to file a disability application and have a disability interview conducted.