If you're 50 years old or older when applying for Social Security disability, it may be easier for you to get approved for disability benefits than it is for a younger person. This is because the Social Security Administration (SSA) believes it's harder for an older person to learn a new job skill or make the transition to a new workplace. The SSA refers to this as making a "vocational adjustment" (basically, a career change).
To account for the difficulty older applicants may have making late-stage career changes, the SSA has something called the "grid rules" it uses to decide some disability claims. The grid rules are one way you can get approved for disability benefits through a medical-vocational allowance. Social Security uses the grid rules only after it's determined that you can't do the jobs you've done in the recent past.
These grid rules (commonly referred to as the "grids") use the following factors to determine whether an applicant is disabled:
Let's take a look at each of these factors and see why, and how, they may affect your disability claim.
For the purposes of the grids, the SSA divides claimants (applicants) into the following age groups:
The older the applicant is, the easier it is to get approved using the grids. (For specific grid rules for applicants age 60 and older, see our article on disability for those approaching retirement age.)
The lower your education level, the more likely you are to get approved under the grids. This is because the SSA knows it is harder for people with little education to find jobs they are qualified to do. Here is how the SSA divides education levels:
If you graduated high school and recently completed a post-secondary training program, your education level is a high school graduate or more with training for skilled work. For example, in one case, a 55-year-old woman with a high school diploma was certified as a nail technician shortly before she injured her back. The SSA denied her disability benefits because the grids say that anyone with recent training that would provide entry for skilled work is not disabled.
Social Security looks at the work you've done over the past five years—any jobs you held for at least 30 days in the last five years are called your "past relevant work." If you don't have any past relevant work, Social Security could find you disabled under the grids, depending on your RFC.
Social Security will also look at your past relevant work to determine whether you have job skills. For the grids, the SSA classifies jobs as unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled. Applicants with a history of only unskilled work are more likely to be found disabled under the grids.
The SSA will classify your past jobs based on how you describe them and how the Department of Labor (DOL) classifies them. An unskilled job, for example, might be a sorter at a factory. An example of a semi-skilled job is a waitress. An example of a skilled job is a paralegal. To determine a job's skill level, the DOL considers factors such how long it takes to learn a job and whether the job requires specialized education.
If your past work was skilled or semi-skilled, the SSA will consider whether you learned any skills that could be used in another position (called transferable skills). The more transferable skills you have, the more likely it is that the SSA will say there is other work you can do, and the harder it is to win your disability claim.
Note that even though a job may be classified as skilled, the skills learned in that job may be so specific that you can't use them in another position (for example, seamstress work). The SSA won't classify skills like these as transferable.
Your residual functional capacity (RFC) is your remaining ability to do work on a regular and sustained basis (full-time). The SSA will use the objective medical evidence you or your doctor has submitted to do a detailed assessment of your ability to do certain job-related activities like standing, walking, lifting, carrying, and pushing. The SSA will give you an RFC for:
Generally, the higher (heavier) your RFC, the more difficult it will be to get approved under the grids.
To see how the SSA would apply the grids to your case, first find the table that addresses your RFC level, then find the row that describes your age group, educational level, and your past work experience. The final column shows how the SSA will decide your claim based on these factors. (20 C.F.R. Section 404, Appendix 2 to Subpart P.)
Here are two excerpts from the grids for applicants aged 50 to 54, for sedentary work and light work, followed by two examples of how Social Security applies these grid rules.
Education |
Skill Level |
Decision |
Limited or less |
Unskilled or none |
Disabled |
Limited or less |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills not transferable |
Disabled |
Limited or less |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills transferable |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or more-no training for direct entry into skilled work |
Unskilled or none |
Disabled |
High school graduate or more, with training for direct entry into skilled work |
Unskilled or none |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or more, but no training for direct entry into skilled work |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills not transferable |
Disabled |
High school graduate or more, but no training for direct entry into skilled work |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills transferable |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or more, with training for direct entry into skilled work |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills not transferable |
Not disabled |
Skill Level |
Decision |
|
Illiterate |
Unskilled or none |
Disabled |
Limited or less |
Unskilled or none |
Not disabled |
Limited or less |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills not transferable |
Not disabled |
Limited or less |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills transferable |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or more |
Unskilled or none |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or more |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills not transferable |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or more |
Skilled or semiskilled, skills transferable |
Not disabled |
Here are two examples of how the SSA would apply the above sets of grid rules.
At age 55, the sedentary work grid remains the same as for claimants aged 50 to 54, but the light work grid rules change quite a bit. For applicants age 55 and over who have an RFC for light work, the following are true, regardless of the level of education:
That said, if an applicant has had recent vocational training that could lead straight to skilled or semi-skilled work, that person wouldn't be disabled under the grid rules.
Here are two excerpts from the grids, for sedentary work and light work, for applicants aged 55 to 59.
Education |
Previous Work Experience |
Decision |
11th grade education or lower |
Unskilled work or no past relevant work |
Disabled |
11th grade education or lower |
Skilled or semiskilled work without transferable skills |
Disabled |
11th grade education or lower |
Skilled or semiskilled work with transferable skills |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or higher |
Unskilled work or no past relevant work |
Disabled |
High school graduate or higher |
Skilled or semiskilled work without transferable skills |
Disabled |
High school graduate or higher |
Skilled or semiskilled work with transferable skills |
Not disabled |
Recent education or training for skilled work |
Unskilled work or no past relevant work |
Not disabled |
Recent education or training for skilled work |
Skilled or semiskilled work with or without transferable skills |
Not disabled |
Education |
Previous Work Experience |
Decision |
11th grade education or lower |
Unskilled work or no past relevant work |
Disabled |
11th grade education or lower |
Skilled or semiskilled work without transferable skills |
Disabled |
11th grade education or lower |
Skilled or semiskilled work with transferable skills |
Not disabled |
High school graduate or higher |
Unskilled work or no past relevant work |
Disabled |
High school graduate or higher |
Skilled or semiskilled work without transferable skills |
Disabled |
High school graduate or higher |
Skilled or semiskilled work with transferable skills |
Not disabled |
Recent education or training for skilled work |
Unskilled work or no past relevant work |
Not disabled |
Recent education or training for skilled work |
Skilled or semiskilled work with or without transferable skills |
Not disabled |
If you have an RFC for heavy or very heavy work, the SSA won't use the grid rules. If you can do heavy or very heavy work, you can also do medium, light, and sedentary jobs, which means that there is a wide range of work you can do. Even if you have an RFC for sedentary work, and the grid says you're not disabled, you may have a hard time showing Social Security that you can't do sedentary work.
If you have impairments that aren't related to your physical capacity, such as mental health issues or trouble using your hands and fingers (non-exertional limitations), you may be able to get approved even though the grid rules say someone in your situation is not disabled. In these cases, Social Security will use your RFC to decide whether you have mental or nonexertional limitations that prevent you from doing a full range of sedentary or light work.
You may also be able to be more likely to be approved for benefits if you have more than one medical condition. Unfortunately, many applicants in the above situations get denied and need to appeal to win benefits. For more information, see our section on appealing common reasons for disability denial.
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