A technical denial is issued to a claimant who does not meet the non-medical requirements for one or more of the disability benefit programs through the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you do not meet the non-medical requirements for any of the SSA benefits programs your claim will not be evaluated for a medical determination.
If you have filed for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and receive a technical denial this means the assets of you or someone in your household exceed the established limits. The SSI program is a needs-based disability program. For a single person, the asset limit is $2000. For a married couple, the asset limit is $3000. However, the SSA does have some exemptions. For example, the SSA will exempt the value of one home and one car. More information can be found on the SSI Eligibility Requirements page of the SSA’s website.
If you receive a technical denial for the Disability Insurance Benefit (DIB) program this is because you have not worked long enough or recently enough under the SSA’s rules. In order to qualify for DIB benefits you need to have earned enough work credits. You earn work credits by paying FICA taxes. More information regarding work credits can be found in the Disability Planner section How Much Work Do You Need? on the SSA website.
In order to qualify for DIB benefits you need to be found disabled prior to your Date Last Insured (DLI). Earning work credits extends your DLI. As a general rule of thumb, you must have worked at least five of the last ten years to qualify for DIB benefits.
If you have previously filed for DIB benefits and were denied after your DLI you will receive what is called a Res Judicata technical denial. The SSA issues the denial because they will not reevaluate an issue they have already made a determination on.
For either SSI or DIB, if you are currently working over what the SSA considers Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) you will receive a technical denial. For 2013 the SSA states that any work activity over $1040 gross income per month constitutes SGA. If you file and your income is over SGA you will be mailed a technical denial and your claim will not be processed. This means, basically, that the SSA is unable to determine the merits of your case because you do not meet the technical requirements of one or both disability programs.
Typically technical denials cannot be appealed. But if your circumstances change you can file a new application. If you think that there is an appealable issue, i.e. the SSA made a mistake determining your asset value or work history information, you will have 60 days from the date of the technical denial to file an appeal.
