In order to qualify for Social Security disability you are not required to prove that you are permanently disabled, just that you have been, or will be, disabled for 12 months consecutively.
Once you are found disabled for either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs you may believe that Social Security considers you permanently disabled, but that is not the case. Social Security does have the ability to classify an applicant as permanently disabled, but most applicants who are found disabled do not fall into this category.
For all those applicants who have been found disabled, but not permanently so, the Social Security Administration, if appropriate, reviews cases once every three years to determine if someone continues to be disabled and should continue to be eligible for disability benefits (42 U.S.C. Sec. 221). For more information about determining disability visit: http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title02/0221.htm#ft233.
The two main factors in determining continued eligibility are work activity and medical improvement. If an applicant returns to work and earns over Substantial Gainful Activity ($1,010 per month gross) or conditions have improved and an applicant is no longer currently disabled.
If Social Security decides to review a case to determine if an applicant is still disabled medical records will be requested and Social Security has the option of sending an applicant to a special examination to help determine continued medical eligibility. If Social Security decides an applicant can now work and earn over SGA, Social Security disability benefits will stop.
According to Social Security, your benefits will also stop if:
- You have benefited from vocational training or advances in medical treatment or vocational technology and because of this you can work.
- We made a mistake in an earlier decision to give you or continue your disability benefits.
- You are not following the treatment your doctor ordered (without a good reason), and you probably could work if you followed the treatment.
- You gave us false or misleading information when we made an earlier decision.
- You are not cooperating with us, and you do not have a good reason for not cooperating.
Older applicants, especially those 55 and older, have a much lower risk of having their case reviewed for disability determination purposes. For more information about how Social Security determines if you are still disabled visit: http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/dqualify5.htm.
