How Social Security Evaluates Work History and Job Abilities
Social Security may deny an SSDI claim even when you cannot return to your previous job. That is because the SSA may also consider whether you can perform other work based on your remaining abilities, age, education, work history, and transferable skills. Understanding how these factors affect your claim can help you better understand an SSDI denial and your appeal options.
Receiving an SSDI denial can be especially frustrating when you know you cannot return to the job you have performed for years, yet Social Security says you may still be able to work. You may look at the decision and wonder how that could possibly be true. If your medical condition prevents you from doing the work you know, then how can Social Security expect you to simply find something else?
The answer is that being unable to return to your previous job does not mean Social Security will find you disabled. After determining that you cannot perform your past work, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may consider whether you can adjust to other work based on your remaining abilities and several vocational factors.
Why Does Social Security Consider “Other Jobs”?
SSDI is intended for people whose medical conditions prevent them from doing substantial gainful activity, not only people who can no longer perform their particular occupations.
For example, imagine someone spent most of their career performing physically demanding construction work. A serious back condition may make it impossible to lift, bend, climb, or stand for the amount of time that job requires. That does not necessarily mean the SSA will find the person disabled.
This is where a disability determination can become complicated. The question is not only whether you can return to the job you had before your disability, but also can you adjust to other work instead.
What Is the Difference Between Your Past Work and Other Work?
The SSA generally evaluates whether you can perform your past relevant work based on your residual functional capacity and the demands of your previous occupations.
If your medical limitations prevent you from performing your previous job, then the evaluation can move to the question of whether you can perform other work.
“Other work” does not necessarily mean finding a job that is identical to your previous occupation. The SSA considers whether your remaining physical and mental abilities, along with your vocational background, would allow you to perform other types of employment.
This can be difficult for claimants to understand. You may have spent decades developing skills for a particular career and have no experience doing another type of work. Yet the SSA may determine that your skills or abilities could transfer to another occupation.
That determination is based on more than whether a job technically exists. Social Security considers a number of factors when deciding whether you can realistically adjust to other work.
How Do Transferable Skills Affect an SSDI Claim?
Your previous employment may have given you skills that can be used in other occupations. These are known as transferable skills.
For example, someone who worked in a supervisory position may have developed skills involving scheduling, recordkeeping, communication, or managing employees. Depending on the circumstances, some of those skills could potentially be used in another job.
However, the fact that you have skills does not necessarily mean they can be transferred to any job. The SSA considers whether your skills can be used in other work that is consistent with your remaining abilities.
Your medical limitations therefore remain important. If your condition prevents you from performing the physical or mental requirements of the jobs where your skills could transfer, then that may affect the disability determination.
Why Does Age Matter?
Age can become particularly important when Social Security considers whether you can adjust to other work.
The SSA recognizes that older workers may have more difficulty adapting to a new occupation, particularly when they have spent many years developing skills in a specific field. The rules become more favorable to older claimants in certain circumstances because Social Security recognizes that transferring skills or adjusting to entirely new work can become more difficult with age.
Claimants age 55 and older may be evaluated under different vocational considerations than younger workers. The rules become particularly significant for people over age 55, whom Social Security considers to have less ability to adjust to other work in certain circumstances.
This does not mean that everyone over 55 will automatically qualify for SSDI if they cannot perform their previous job. Medical limitations, work history, education, and other factors still matter. But age can change how Social Security evaluates the ability to transition into other employment.
Can You Challenge a Decision That Says You Can Do Other Work?
Yes. An SSDI denial is not necessarily the end of your claim.
If Social Security determines that you can perform other work, then it is important to understand how that conclusion was reached. The determination may involve your residual functional capacity, age, education, past work, and transferable skills.
An attorney handling an SSDI appeal can review the denial and evaluate whether the vocational reasoning is supported by the evidence. This may include examining the physical and mental demands of your previous jobs, the limitations documented by your medical providers, and the types of other work Social Security believes you can perform.
At an Administrative Law Judge hearing, a vocational expert may also testify about whether someone with your limitations, background, and work history could perform particular jobs. Your attorney can question the vocational expert and challenge conclusions that do not accurately reflect your abilities or limitations.
Get Help Understanding an SSDI Denial
Being told you can no longer perform your previous job but can still perform other work can be difficult to understand, particularly when your medical condition prevents you from maintaining employment.
Social Security’s determination involves more than your diagnosis. Your functional limitations, work history, education, age, and transferable skills can all affect whether the SSA believes you can adjust to another occupation.
If your SSDI claim has been denied because Social Security believes you can perform other work, then you do not have to assume the decision is the final word. An experienced SSDI attorney can review the reasoning behind the denial and help determine whether additional evidence or arguments could strengthen your appeal.
At Arthur Law Firm, we help people who have been denied Social Security disability benefits understand their options and navigate the appeals process. Contact us at 419-782-9881 to determine what steps you may be able to take next.