Welcome! This site is written for Social Security disability claimants, for their legal representatives, and for the network of people involved in the Social Security disability claim process. I hope you find it helpful.
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I recently helped a client over the age of 55 with their initial application for Social Security disability benefits. I get involved early in these cases because the claimant’s past relevant work is often the most important aspect of the claim, and I want to ensure that both the application and the Work History Report are completed accurately.

When I first spoke to the client, they said they had been out of work for about 5 months, since September of 2024. Upon further inquiry, it turned out that the client’s last long-term job ended the year before, in September of 2023. Since then, they tried to work for three different employers, with 30+ day gaps in between each job. Those jobs only lasted 2-3 months due to the client’s physical impairments. Looking at the dates of employment and the reason for departing each job, it became clear that these three jobs were unsuccessful work attempts. Unsuccessful work attempts are by definition not SGA (substantial gainful activity), and therefore do not interrupt the disability period. See 20 CFR 404. 1574(c).

As a result of this analysis, when we filed the application for disability benefits, we correctly alleged an onset date of September 2023, when the long-term work ended, disregarding the subsequent unsuccessful work attempts. This resulted in an award of 12 months of additional disability benefits for the client.

Social Security has just published Tips and Best Practices for Appointed Representatives (link opens a PDF). It is a wide-ranging guide for Representatives navigating Social Security’s rapidly evolving rules regarding representation, registration, and payment.

The PDF includes information about:

  • Representative registration
  • Use of online services
  • Direct payments
  • Assignments of direct payments to entities
  • Tips to facilitate processing of appointments
  • Signature requirements and initial claim packages
  • Fees

Please also review Social Security’s Best Practices for Claimants’ Representatives.

When I have a client over the age of 55 with physical impairments, this is typically the final paragraph of my brief for the disability adjudicator or the administrative law judge:

At Step 5 of the sequential evaluation, Mr. Jones is 58 years old. He does not have acquired job skills that transfer to a significant range of skilled or semi-skilled work within his RFC (please see Section 202.00 (e) of the Medical-Vocational Guidelines). Also, his mental health symptoms would prevent the transfer of any acquired job skills. Mr. Jones does not have recent education allowing direct entry to skilled work. Under these circumstances, Medical-Vocational Rule 202.06 directs a finding of “disabled” at the Light exertional level. As the regulations explain, “the limitations in vocational adaptability represented by functional restriction to light work warrant a finding of disabled.” See Section 202.00(c) of the Medical-Vocational Guidelines.

If the client’s limitations are adequately established, this is a winning argument every time.

Social Security has a process for expediting certain disability claims for people with some rare diseases and diagnoses that often have poor outcomes. It is called the Compassionate Allowance program (they abbreviate it as CAL). A list of the conditions which qualify for the program is here.

Although Social Security uses the same criteria to determine disability in compassionate allowance cases as other cases, the CAL cases move quickly through the system. I did not realize how quickly the claims moved until this past week, when I helped a new client with a compassionate allowance condition with their disability application. Look at the speed with which the claim was handled:

  • Wednesday, January 22 – application filed online; I faxed documents to the Portland, Maine Field Office that day.
  • Thursday, January 23 – a specialist at the field office conducted a non-medical review of the claim.
  • Friday, January 24 – the case is transferred to DDS. They assign a disability examiner that day, who orders the claimant’s medical records and sends forms to the claimant that day (Work History Report, Cardiac Questionnaire).
  • Weekend – I download those forms from the electronic claim file, email them to the claimant who completes them and emails the completed forms back to me. I submit the forms to Social Security electronically, so they are in the claim file for Monday morning.
  • Monday, January 27 – I tell the disability adjudicator about one more source for medical records, because the claimant takes part in a clinical trial at the Brigham in Boston. The disability adjudicator orders those records that day.
  • Tuesday, January 28 – requested medical records arrive in the electronic file.
  • Wednesday, January 29 – expedited medical review. No waiting in the queue for medical evaluation.
  • Thursday morning, January 30 – case closed! Allowance issued. Case is picked up by Federal Quality Review.
  • Friday, January 31 – FQR completed. Case transferred back to the local office. Payment is processed that day.

To recap, the claim went from a disability application to payment of benefits in 10 days. Remarkable! And the money has already landed in the client’s account via direct deposit.

Every Social Security employee involved in the claim, particularly the specialist at the field office and the DDS adjudicator, acted expeditiously to make this result possible. They deserve great credit for it.

There is an excellent recent NY Times Magazine article by Jennifer Kahn, entitled Chronic Pain is a Hidden Epidemic. It’s time for a Revolution. (the link will take you through the paywall).

Many of my clients experience chronic pain. It is good to see the issue starting to get the attention it deserves from the medical and scientific community.

The article states that pain was traditionally considered part of the healing process, and expected to disappear after an injury healed. Doctors were mystified by persistent pain. Contributing to the problem is the fact that there is no way to observe a patient’s pain or objectively measure it. So patients were often not taken seriously when they complained of chronic pain.

Researches are now beginning to understand that chronic pain can be a disorder of the central nervous system, and can be triggered anywhere along the pain-signaling nerve chain that runs to the brain. That is a big shift in thinking, and offers hope through targeting medications for those experiencing chronic pain. That’s the good news.

The bad news for those applying for disability due to chronic pain is that the Social Security disability system is an inherently skeptical system. Particularly at the DDS levels of initial and reconsideration review, chronic pain is not given enough weight – even when the cause of the pain is apparent. In cases where the reported pain is disproportionate to the perceived cause, or the precise cause is unknown, the chronic pain is often discounted altogether. The problem is compounded by the fact that there is no objective way to measure a person’s pain level.

The situation usually improves at the hearing level, when an administrative law judge will listen to your testimony and make a decision.

Social Security has issued Ruling 24-3p, entitled: Titles II and XVI: Use of Occupational Information and Vocational Specialist and Vocational Expert Evidence in Disability Determinations and Decisions. The Ruling became effective January 6, 2025.

The new Ruling rescinds and replaces Ruling 00-4p. The new Ruling follows two emergency messages from last year, addressing certain outdated occupations in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

The HALLEX has also been updated. See “Testimony of a Vocational Expert” HALLEX I-2-6-74.

Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is the amount of money that one can earn monthly and still qualify for Social Security disability benefits. The amount is adjusted each year for cost of living, as shown by this table. In 2024, the amount was $1,550 per month. This year, it rises to $1,620. SGA is based on gross pay, before payroll taxes are withheld.

The SGA amount is important for two groups of people:

  • A person applying for disability benefits must have (or be expected to have) a period of 12 consecutive months with wages below SGA (subject, of course, to the rules for unsuccessful work attempts and Impairment Related Work Expenses).
  • A person receiving Title II disability benefits can earn up to the SGA amount and still receive benefits (be sure to also take a look at the trial work rules).

For those receiving Title II disability benefits and working part-time, it is your responsibility to keep track of your monthly earnings and make sure they remain below the level of SGA.

Here in Maine and New Hampshire, where I attend Social Security disability hearings with administrative law judges, the hearing offices have caught up. Hearings are being scheduled promptly, with 75+ days notice, after the hearing request is processed. Many years ago, when I started handling these cases, the hearing offices had a large backlog of cases, and hearing delays were well over a year, sometimes 2 years. That was a long time to wait for a person unable to work to earn an income.

Social Security committed resources to improve the situation. Technology and the electronic claim file have certainly helped. It is terrific to see these cases move expeditiously now at the hearing level.

At the initial and reconsideration levels of review, however, delays have gotten worse. There seem to be enough disability adjudicators making determinations. And again, technology and the electronic claim file have helped, because claims can easily be transmitted to offices that have available capacity.

The problem is that each disability claim must go through a medical review, and there are simply not enough doctors reviewing these claims. After a disability adjudicator has gathered the medical records, a completed Work History Report, and an Adult Function Report, the claim goes into a queue for medical review. And it may sit in the queue for months before it is assigned to a doctor to review the claim and assess a residual functional capacity. Sometimes that in-house doctor will not have sufficient evidence, and a consultative exam is scheduled. That can add another 1-2 months to a claim, because there are a limited number of doctors conducting those examinations. As a result, some initial claims are taking 8-9 months for a determination. That is longer than it should be.

On this day in 2008, I published a post on this blog titled “Disability is Functionality.” All these years later, it remains true.

Claimants often are surprised to learn that their disability applications were denied even though their doctors provided a letter stating that their patient is disabled, or their medical records show that they have a severe medical condition. However, disability decisions are primarily based upon an individual’s functional capacity rather than a diagnosis.

To establish disability, a person must establish the functional limitations they experience due their diagnosed conditions, and that those limitations prevent ongoing work. Social Security will not connect the dots between a particular diagnosis and the ability to work. It is the claimant’s burden to prove.