Many people who have gone through it describe the Social Security disability benefits application process as a struggle. It doesn’t help that only about one-third of the claims are approved during the initial level of the process.
It may help to understand the sequential evaluation Social Security puts your application through. Sackett and Associates, a nationwide disability law firm based in Northern California, offers this explanation of the process by which the Social Security Administration decides to approve or deny a claim.
Overview Of The Application Evaluation Process
When you submit an application for disability benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income, it goes to a local field office of the SSA. The field office reviews it to determine whether you meet the non-medical requirements.
The Social Security field office determines whether an applicant for SSDI has a sufficient work history to be insured through the program. SSI applicants must meet income and resource limitations to be approved under program rules.
The field office completes the first step of the SSA 5 step process, which is determining if a person is doing substantial gainful activity (SGA). SGA is work involving productive and significant physical and mental activity performed for pay or profit.
The SSA uses a person’s earnings to determine their ability to do SGA. Each year, the federal government sets a threshold amount for SGA. For example, the 2025 monthly SGA threshold for individuals with disabilities is $1,620.
If a person earns more than the SGA threshold, it indicates an ability to work. The ability to work generally indicates that a person does not meet Social Security disability criteria, so their claim would be denied.
Applications of individuals who do not work or work without earning more than the SGA threshold are sent by the local Social Security field office to the Disability Determination Services (DDS). The DDS is a state agency funded by the SSA.
DDS offices review applications to determine whether a person meets the disability criteria for approval of disability benefits through SSDI or SSI. Steps two through five of the SSA 5 step process take place at a DDS agency.
The Five-Step Sequential Evaluation Process
DDS examiners continue with the five-step sequential evaluation process that begins at a Social Security field office. Each of the disability evaluation steps follows in a set order, starting with step one and, if necessary, continuing through step five.
A finding that a person is disabled or not disabled at any one of the steps generally ends the evaluation process. Here are the five steps of the evaluation process with a brief explanation of each one:
- Step One – Work Activity: This step evaluates the current work activity, if any, of an applicant. If their earnings exceed the SGA threshold, they are not disabled according to the SSA definition of disability. This step may be performed at a Social Security field office.
- Step Two – Medical Severity: The SSA disability standard requires that a person have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death. If a person’s condition is not severe enough to meet this duration requirement, they are not disabled.
- Step Three – Listing of Impairments Medical Severity: The SSA maintains a listing of impairments it considers severe and meeting the duration standard. A person’s symptoms must meet or match those of a listed impairment for a disability finding.
- Step Four – Past Relevant Work: DDS determines a person’s residual functional capacity along with their age, work experience, and education, and uses it to evaluate whether they can do work they did in the past. The ability to do past relevant work means an applicant is not disabled.
- Step Five – Other Types of Work: If a person cannot do past relevant work, the final step determines whether their residual functional capacity, age, education, and work experience allow a person to adjust to doing other types of work. If they can, then they are not disabled.
The DDS relies on medical evidence, including the results of blood work, MRIs, CT scans, X-rays, and other medical testing, to reach its findings at each step of the SSA 5-step process.
Contact Sackett Law For Disability Benefits Assistance
The disability lawyers at Sackett and Associates have been helping people with disabilities with their SSDI and SSI claims for more than 45 years. They understand that success in the disability evaluation steps depends on a well-prepared application supported by evidence. That is why we gather medical records and contact your medical providers to ensure your claim has the necessary documentation.
The dedicated professionals at Sackett Law make navigating the disability benefits process easier for you. Contact us today for a free consultation.
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