How Your Age Determines Your Eligibility for Disability

Social Security disability is not simply a matter of asking whether you are able to perform any work at all. The Social Security regulations provide for somewhat different criteria depending on the age of the claimant as your Ocala Social Security disability attorney will tell you. The general requirement for most claimants is that must prove they can no longer perform their past work or any other work. However, the claimant’s age comes into play when asking this question. The rules become more lenient for claimants 55 or over.

What If I Am Over 55?

The SSA uses a set of rules known as the Medical-Vocational Guidelines to make disability determinations, which your Ocala Social Security Disability Attorney can explain to you. The Guidelines are written from the view that claimants who are older and have more limiting conditions will have a more difficult time adjusting to a new job.

Claimants who are 55 or older and could only possibly perform light unskilled work are automatically presumed by the Guidelines to be unable to adapt to other work. In this case, your Ocala Social Security disability lawyer will have a much easier case to make that you are disabled.

What About My Past Work?

Disability claimants must also prove that they can no longer perform their “past relevant work.” This term describes the jobs that you have held in the past 15 years that you were actually able to perform. If it is found that you are still able to do any of these jobs, your claim will almost certainly be denied before the process gets to the stage mentioned above where your age would give you a favorable presumption.

This is where an experienced Ocala Social Security disability lawyer can help you. Proving that you are unable to do any of your past relevant work is one of the ways that a lawyer could potentially help you win disability benefits.

For more information on how your age will affect your eligibility for disability benefits, contact an Ocala Social Security disability attorney. Call CJ Henry Law Firm, PLLC. Call 352.304.5300.