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The Social Security Administration will now only consider work performed in the last 5 years in determining a disability applicant's past relevant work helping older disability applicants. Part of the Social Security Administration’s analysis in determining whether someone qualifies for disability benefits is whether the individual is still capable of performing past relevant work as defined by their rules. Historically, the administration would look back 15 years to determine an individual’s past relevant work. However, the Social Security Administration recently announced it will now only look back 5 years to determine an individual’s past relevant work. See SSA rule change here . Why is this a big deal for older social security disability applicants? In the case of a younger individual, defined as a person 49 years of age or younger, the individual must prove their disability is so severe they cannot perform any work in the national economy. Thus, this new rule change has no impact on younger individuals’ disability claims. However, this changes if the individual is age 50 or older. An individual 50 years of age no longer must prove they cannot perform any work in the national economy, but instead, they must prove they cannot return to past relevant work and cannot perform work that requires greater than sedentary physical exertional level. This is where the recent rule change is significant. Under the old rule, if a 50-year-old individual performed sedentary work 14 years ago and then worked light duty jobs up to the time they became unable to work, that distant sedentary job would disqualify the individual for disability benefits. Under the new 5 year look back rule, that same individual would qualify for disability benefits because the agency will not consider the prior sedentary work since it occurred over 5 years ago. This rule change has an even more profound positive impact on disability applicants over the age of fifty-five. This rule change helps bring into focus an individuals’ most recent relevant work activity while still providing enough information for the agency to continue making accurate determinations. It also helps older individuals applying for disability benefits as they no longer must recall details including dates, duties, and job titles spanning 15 years thus limiting the chances of an incomplete or inaccurate record while reducing the time needed to fill out forms. In sum, this rule change will result in a higher percentage of older disabled individuals qualifying for social security disability. At Johnson & Legislador, PLC, our social security disability lawyers have the experience and a proven record to help you win your case. If you can no longer work due to disabling medical conditions and want to apply for social security disability or have recently had your social security disability claim denied call Johnson & Legislador, PLC now at (319) 662-6055 or fill out our online Consultation Form for a fee claim evaluation.

Pre-Existing Conditions and Work Injuries

While every social security disability case is different, and the following facts are not required to be successful in a claim for social security disability, these factors are commonly seen in successful cases.