What Are Grid Rules for Disability Benefits?

If you are aged 50 or older and you were recently diagnosed with a disabling condition that prevents you from doing the work you used to do, you may be wondering about your ability to seek Social Security disability benefits, and specifically your eligibility for payments through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. While the general requirements to receive SSDI benefits include proving that you have a disability according to the definition used by the SSA and showing that you have a sufficient work record and work credits to qualify for benefits, you might also have heard people referencing the “grid rules.”

What are the grid rules, and how might they apply to your Social Security disability claim? The term “grid rules” refers to the Medical-Vocational Guidelines in the Code of Federal Regulations, and they put a heightened emphasis on a person’s age for determining eligibility for disability benefits. Consider the following information from our national disability benefits attorneys.

What Are the Grid Rules?

What are the grid rules? The specific language listed in the Medical-Vocational Guidelines explains:

“The following rules reflect the major functional and vocational patterns which are encountered in cases which cannot be evaluated on medical considerations alone, where an individual with a severe medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) is not engaging in substantial gainful activity and the individual’s impairment(s) prevents the performance of his or her vocationally relevant past work.”

In short, the grid rules make it easier for people of a certain age to be approved for Social Security disability benefits. In using the grid rules, the Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes that it is more difficult for an older person to learn the information or skills necessary to change careers when a disabling condition has prevented them from doing the same type of work they did for years in the past.

How the Grid Rules Work 

Applying the grid rules, the SSA considers the following factors in assessing a person’s disability claim:

• Age;
• Educational level;
• Previous work experience and skill level required;
• Existence of transferable work skills; and
• Residual functional capacity, or RFC.

Age is the major factor taken into consideration. The grid rules result in disability applicants being placed in categories based on age: younger adults (18-49), adults approaching advanced age (50-54), advanced age (55 and up), and approaching retirement (60 and up). The grid rules are advantageous for applicants who are aged 50 or older because the rules clarify that a person of this age “may be significantly limited in vocational adaptability if they are restricted to sedentary work.”

The rules also divide applicants into educational levels (from unable to read and write up through recent skilled work training), skill levels, and based on transferable skills. The SSA will also assess your RFC, looking at medical evidence, to determine your ability to perform sedentary work up through very heavy work. You will be given an RFC number, and the lower the number the more likely you are to be approved for disability benefits under the grid rules.

Contact a National Disability Benefits Lawyer Today for Assistance 

Seeking disability benefits and proving your eligibility to the SSA can be a complex process. If you have any questions at all about applying for disability benefits, or how issues such as your age, your educational level, and the degree of your disability might impact your eligibility for benefits, one of the experienced national disability benefits lawyers at the Law Offices of Stephen Barszcz can speak with you today.

Source:

ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-app-p02.htm