Nearly two-thirds of the first-time applicants for Social Security disability (SSD) benefits receive rejection notices. Those denials especially sting for the people who need the money to support their families due to their inability to work. For some reason, it is a common occurrence to have disability applications denied by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
However, there is hope through an appeal. Once your application gets denied immediately file an appeal. The SSA approves most appeals, too. Still, you wonder whether the government took you seriously. It is obvious that you cannot work, and you feel as if the SSA does not believe you. The government has several reasons for denying benefits applications.
Ability to perform other duties
The SSA’s annual statistical report, released in October 2019, sheds some light on a number of issues related to its benefits program. For example, in 2017, close to 513,000 workers had their benefits applications denied. The reasons vary. However, here are the top four reasons for SSD benefits denials as well as percentages.
- The worker can perform other tasks through other jobs (40.6%).
- The worker’s ailment was not serious enough to secure disability benefits (23.8%).
- The worker still was able to perform the duties of his or her previous job (9.9%).
- The worker’s ailment did not least a year or was not expected to last the entire year (5%).
The rest of the reasons for denial run the gamut and comprise 20.8% of the rejections. These reasons include alcoholism/drug addiction led to impairment, no existence of medical evidence, applicant’s failure to cooperate, applicant not abiding by treatment, the applicant’s discontinuation of the claim, and the applicant’s return to work before verification of the disability.
An appeal is beneficial, and so is an attorney who focuses on SSD benefits claims.
