When reviewing an application for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) closely examines the physical or mental limitations a medical condition places on the applicant and his or her ability to perform essential job duties. They also review your work history, experience, education and other qualifications in order to determine the nature of the work you have traditionally done and the type of work you could potentially do.

In both instances, the SSA categorizes work into basic groups. The work you are able to perform, even with your physical or mental limitations is classified, as is the type of work you have traditionally completed.

Light work is among the basic classifications of job duties used by the SSA and is defined as a position in which the worker is not required to lift any more than 20 pounds at one time, though they may be required to frequently lift and/or carry up to 10 pounds. Additionally, light work may require frequent standing, walking, and/or pushing and pulling while seated, including positions that require the use of legs, arms, or both to push or pull leavers or other mechanical devises.

If the SSA finds you’re able to perform light work and your work history and experience also fall into this same category, then you will be found ineligible for disability benefits. This is because the SSA will view your medical condition as not sufficiently limiting your ability to perform essential job duties.

However, if you are found unable to perform light work and your experience has thus far been in a light work categorized job field, then the SSA may find you eligible for SSD benefits. This is because your condition limits your ability to do the type of work for which you’re best qualified.

If an applicant can perform light work, the SSA will also find him or her capable of performing sedentary work. They may require the individual to attempt to gain employment in a position classified as sedentary work, if their skills, training and education make them otherwise qualified for such a position.

Even if you’re not currently qualified for a sedentary job, the SSA may find you eligible for SSD benefits, but may require you to complete a vocational rehabilitation program. The goal of a vocational rehabilitation program is for you to learn new skills in order to get a sedentary job in which your physical limitations will not prevent you from maintaining gainful employment.

When determining an applicant’s eligibility for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reviews the work history and experience of the applicant. They look at the level of impairment or disability the individual suffers in order to determine if it places severe enough limitations on the applicant to prevent them from working in particular types of jobs – specifically, those in which they have previously worked and gained the majority of their job skills and experience.

In evaluating the work done by the applicant, the SSA defines the kind of work duties performed. Heavy work is among the basic classifications of job duties and defines positions in which the worker is required to frequently lift up to 50 pounds at a time and/or carry objects that weigh up to 50 pounds. In heavy work, individuals are not expected to lift more than 100 pounds at a time, though they may occasionally be required to lift or carry more than 50.

If the SSA reviews your medical documentation and finds you’re capable of performing heavy work, you will also be found capable of performing medium, light and sedentary work. Essentially this means that the SSA may find you ineligible for SSD benefits based on the idea that you may be able to maintain gainful employment in another type of job – one in which you’re qualified and able to perform essential job functions.

If however it’s determined that your disability prevents you from performing heavy work, the SSA will seek to establish the level of work that you are capable of performing. For instance, you may be able to do medium or light work, given the limitations of your medical condition.

In such a case, the SSA may require you to seek employment through a vocational rehabilitation program as a condition of receiving disability benefits. A vocational rehabilitation program allows you to learn new, essential skills in order to find work in a new field in which your physical limitations will not prevent you from maintaining gainful employment.

The “federal benefit rate”, or FBR, is the maximum dollar figure paid to individuals that receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under the Social Security Disability (SSD) program. FBR is also commonly called the SSI Standard Benefit Amount or the Federal Payment Standard. All of these terms refer to the same thing – the maximum amount of benefits that can be paid to a blind, aged or disabled individual through SSI. SSI is an additional cash benefit available for SSD recipients that have limited financial resources.

The federal benefit rate is currently $698 for an individual and $1,048 for a couple receiving SSI. While these are the 2012 figures for SSI benefits, the federal benefit rate is periodically adjusted according to the “cost of living” as calculated under the federal consumer price index.

The consumer price index tracks the cost of essential and common goods and services in order to determine increases in living expenses. Cost of living adjustments are made in response to findings from the consumer price indexing process.

When the cost of living adjustment goes into affect each year on January 1st, the federal benefit rate is adjusted accordingly. In other words, while the 2012 FBR is set, it may or may not increase in subsequent years based on the cost of living analyses utilizing the federal consumer price index.

Although the federal benefit rates listed above reflect the current dollar amounts, these figures represent the maximum benefit that may be available through SSI. Not every SSI recipient is entitled to the full federal benefit rate.

Income/assets, living arrangements, age and type of disability or impairment can affect the amount of SSI benefits you receive. SSI payments are slightly higher for blind beneficiaries, and individuals living alone may qualify for a different level of benefit than a disabled worker who lives with relatives and pays no rent, for example.

The term “episodes of decompensation” is a crucial concept to understand if you’re applying for Social Security Disability (SSD) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits based on a diagnosed mental illness.

Decompensation is a clinical term used to describe a mentally ill individual’s state of mental health when he or she was previously managing the illness well but suffered a downturn at a certain stage. That stage is considered a decompensation or decline in overall condition.

After your application for Social Security Disability (SSD) has been reviewed and approved by the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Disability Determination Services (DDS) office, you will receive a formal letter informing you of your eligibility to receive disability benefits. This document is known as an “award letter” and will contain the pertinent details of your eligibility and benefit payments, including:

• The amount of your monthly disability benefit payments
• The date each month that you can expect to receive your SSD payment
• The lump-sum amount of “past due” benefits you’ll receive
• The expected date that your past due benefits will be sent to you

Because disability claims can take a significant period of time to go through the review process with the DDS, most SSD recipients are due retroactive benefit payments at the time they receive their award letter. Any benefits that are past due are paid in a single lump-sum at the commencement of disability.

In addition to detailing past due and monthly benefit payment information, your award letter will also inform you of the process for formally questioning or appealing the determination of the DDS. If you believe you should be eligible for higher monthly payments or if you believe you’re due more retroactive benefit payments, then you can appeal the DDS’s decision.

Your monthly benefits will not be affected by an appeal and you will continue to receive benefits each month in the previously communicated amount until a final decision is made on your appeal. After the appeal is finalized, adjustments may or may not be made to your monthly or retroactive benefits, dependent upon what the appeal uncovers.

Award letters typically arrive within one to three months after claimants are found eligible for SSD benefits. An award letter can arrive sooner or later than this average timeframe. In some instances, a claimant may even see disability benefits direct deposited to his or her account before an award letter even arrives in the mail. This can make the commencement of disability benefit payments a confusing time for a new recipient. Backlogs and delays are common with the SSA; however, an award letter will eventually be processed that informs you of all the basic information of your eligibility and your ongoing benefit payment amounts and schedule.

An adult who first becomes disabled before turning 22 years of age may, under certain circumstance, qualify for child’s benefits for Social Security Disability (SSD). The Social Security Administration (SSA) defines a Disabled Adult Child (DAC) as someone who becomes disabled prior to age 22, who’s eligible for disability benefits.

When you submit an application for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) wants to know to what extent your medical or psychological condition affects your ability to perform everyday activities. Everyday activities are referenced by the SSA in all their documentation and forms as “activities of daily living”. It is also commonly abbreviated as simple ADLs.

Essentially, the SSA reviews the details of your daily activities in order to determine how severe your condition is and whether it results in substantial impairment. When reviewing activities of daily living, the SSA will want to know specific details, including, but not always limited to:

• What your average day consists of, or what you do from the time you wake in the morning until you go to bed at night.
• Whether or not you drive or are able to operate a vehicle.
• What household chores and other tasks and errands you’re able to perform.
• If you prepare your own food or, if not, how you obtain your meals.
• What interests and/or hobbies you actively pursue or participate in.
• If you’re able to bathe, and use the bathroom on your own, or if you require assistance.
• Whether or not you can dress and groom yourself, of if your need help in doing so.
• The impact of your condition on your sleep patterns, quality of sleep, etc.
• How your condition affects your ability to perform unskilled or skilled work.

The ADL evaluation is an important part of the SSD determination for any impairment, and must be disclosed as part of the SSD application process on the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Questionnaire. Because the SSA considers so many aspects of your activities of daily living in the evaluation of eligibility for SSD benefits, it’s critical that you’re as detailed as possible in your description and disclosure of how your condition affects all aspects your life.