What is the Definition of Disability?

Social Security defines disability as “the inability to work at any job that is appropriate given the combined effect of the client’s functional limitations, age, education, and past work experience.” This disability must be based on a “medically determinable impairment” (a medical or psychological condition proven by medical testing and/or evaluation) or a combination of medical impairments, and must have lasted, or be expected to last, for a continuous 12-month period. A disability claim may be based on physical conditions, mental health conditions, or both.

Claimants Under 50

Clients Under 50 Years Old must show that they are unable to perform any type of work that exists in the national economy. People often describe their disability by stating that they are unable to do the type of work that they used to do, cannot find work they would rather do, or that there are no jobs available where they live. While these are certainly reasonable considerations during a job search, they do not have much relevance to how a Social Security disability case is decided for a person who is less than 50 years old. This is a difficult standard to meet, but not impossible; it usually requires careful preparation and presentation to be successful.

Claimants Over 50

Clients Over 50 Years Old must meet different qualifications. For them, the Social Security disability law acknowledges that after a lifetime of performing one type of work, it is often more difficult to "switch gears" and move into other types of work. The classic example is the person in their 50s who has performed manual labor all his or her life; in many cases, if it can be shown that the individual is incapable of performing past work, benefits are usually awarded. For people over 50 who have performed more skilled types of work, it is not possible to give general answers because Social Security will consider the combined effect of the person’s medical limitations, age, education, and skills from previous work that may be transferable to other, less strenuous or stressful, types of work.