Age is an important factor in the Social Security Administration’s assessment of your disability. This is because the older you are, the less likely it is that you will be in a position to change other factors significantly, such as skills and education. Another major assessment factor, residual functional capacity, is also less likely to change substantially.
The following information details how age affects the SSA’s determination, but if you have been denied or need assistance applying for SSD, it may be in your best interests to hire a Chicago Social Security law firm.
Age alone does not determine whether a person qualifies, of course, but it is in many ways the most important determinant. Proving you are disabled first requires that you disregard your own preconceived notions of what “disabled” means. The SSA defines disabled in a very specialized way for their purposes. You are considered disabled if your impairment prevents you from performing any job that you have held in the past 15 years, and you will be unable to work for at least twelve months.
Your Chicago Social Security law firm will tell you that this inability is based upon your medical condition, provided it equals or meets one of those in the SSA’s Listing of Impairments. If not, you need to rely on your residual functional capacity, or RFC, to prove you are disabled.
A Chicago Social Security Law Firm on Residual Functional Capacity
Your residual functional capacity is a measure of your remaining ability to perform at different levels, given your impairment. RFCs consider four kinds of work:
• Sedentary, which involves sitting most of the time and lifting no more than 10 pounds
• Light, which is work in which on average you lift no more than 10 pounds, but occasionally lift up to 20
• Medium, which includes jobs where you often will lift 25 pounds, and sometimes 50
• Heavy, which is work that often involves the lifting of more than 50 pounds
It should be evident that the older you are, the less likely it will be that you can perform work that involves heavy lifting. Given this fact, the older you are, the easier it will be to prove you are disabled if you are not able to work even a sedentary job. This is particularly true if you have little skill or education. The attorney with your Chicago Social Security law firm will discuss in detail your work capabilities with you, and you will likely need to be assessed by a medical expert to determine whether your RFC is sufficient to prove you are disabled.
Call Our Chicago Social Security Law Firm
If your disability application has been denied, you may well be able to receive approval if you file an appeal. However, it is generally better to have a Chicago Social Security law firm in your corner when you do, particularly when you are called to a hearing. Call Chicago Disability Law today .
