New Plan Could Deny Disability Benefits for Older Americans

The Trump administration is considering a proposal to remove age as a factor in awarding Social Security Disability benefits, which would make it more difficult for older people to qualify, according to a recent report by The Washington Post.

Advocates for those with disabilities warn that it could leave tens of thousands of Americans with severe financial difficulties just before they retire.

There are two disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance, which is known as SSDI, and Supplemental Security Income, commonly referred to as SSI.

SSDI pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you have a disability and you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes recently enough.

SSI, on the other hand, is based on financial need. The Social Security Administration (SSA) says, “It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income.”

Under current policies, in determining your eligibility for SSDI or SSI benefits, the Social Security Administration considers four main areas: your age, your skills and education, the work you did in the past, and your residual functional capacity, or RFC.

Your RFC is an evaluation of what you can still do despite your impairments. If the rules under consideration are adopted, “age” would no longer be a central factor in assessing eligibility. The change would effectively raise the bar for workers in their 50s and 60s who are dealing with chronic illnesses or long-term injuries.

At present, it is a bit easier to qualify for disability benefits when you are past age 55 or even age 50, than if you are in your 20s, 30s, or 40s.

Younger people must prove that they can’t perform even the easiest sit-down jobs before the Social Security Administration will award them disability benefits. The SSA recognizes that age significantly affects a person’s ability to adjust to other work. That’s the rationale for special rules for people “closely approaching advanced age” (over 50) and of “advanced age” (over 55).

An example can show how the age 55 rule works. Suppose you’re 57 years old and you were employed as a factory worker your entire adult life. However, due to osteoarthritis, you cannot walk or even stand for extended periods of time without experiencing excruciating pain.

Social Security can find that you meet their criteria for disability benefits, even if you are capable of a sit-down job.

If the new rules are adopted, Social Security will ignore the fact that you are 57 and give a cursory look at the work you did in the past but put a major emphasis on your RFC.

If the agency determines that based on your RFC and your skills and education you theoretically could perform any job other than being a factory worker, even a sedentary job (and even if, in reality, no employer would hire someone with your limitations), they will likely deny your application for disability benefits.

A White House spokesperson denied the Post’s report. Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said there won’t be any changes to disability determination processes. In the runup to the 2024 election, President Trump declared, “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare. We’ll have to do it elsewhere. But we’re not going to do anything to hurt them.”

At any age, you must meet certain criteria for Social Security Disability benefits. You must demonstrate that the symptoms of your impairments prevent you from sustaining full-time competitive employment on a consistent and reliable basis.

To do this, you must start with a diagnosis through a doctor’s exam, but a diagnosis alone is not enough to qualify you for benefits.

Your symptoms must be documented, and your doctor should also explain how your medical conditions limit your ability to work. All qualifying disabilities must be expected to last and keep you out of work for at least 12 months.

Even though you have a somewhat better chance of winning Social Security Disability benefits if you are over 55, there are no guarantees that you will qualify. The road to securing the benefits you have earned is difficult to navigate, and less than one-third of those who initially apply are awarded benefits.

But a federal government study showed that if a claimant had a representative in their hearing with a disability judge, such as a disability attorney, they were three times more likely to be allowed benefits than someone who had no representation at all.

If you’re struggling to get the disability benefits you have earned, you don’t need to take on Social Security alone.

The skilled and experienced Chicago disability lawyers at Nash Disability Law will fight for your rights.

Contact us today for a free and honest evaluation of your disability claim and when you work with us, we only get paid when you win your case.