Perhaps you’re a 20-something worker who becomes disabled and is now applying for Social Security Disability benefits. What will be the outcome of your SSD claim?
Same question asked again, but with this twist: What if you are a member of the 50-plus demographic going through the same process?
Social Security Administration examiners will entertain the same eligibility-linked question in both instances, a point we underscore at the proven disability law firm of Jeffrey S. Lichtman.
That is this: Can you do some type of work?
“If the SSA finds that you cannot work in your own profession,” we query on our website, “is there an expectation that your skills are transferable to other, less demanding work?”
Admittedly, a different thrust will attach to that inquiry based on an applicant’s age. We stress for example that younger workers have “an extremely difficult burden of proof” when seeking to establish benefit eligibility. And that is readily understandable, given that examiners will assess whether they can do virtually any work of all. People under 50 generally “need to establish a complete inability to do any type of work whatsoever” on a full-time basis.
The eligibility threshold for the 50-and-up demographic is not so onerous. SSA decision makers customarily employ a standard that assesses whether an older worker can transfer his or her skills to other types of work within their profession that are less demanding.
“Every person’s situation is different,” we note on our website.
And it is that variance that can reasonably motivate an SSD claimant to seek timely and knowledgeable help in applying for benefits from an experienced disability law firm.
