How Does SSA Assess Physical Versus Mental Impairments?

People often wonder if the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) assesses physical impairments differently than they do mental health impairments. The bottom-line is that you can receive Social Security Disability and/or Supplemental Security Income benefits for either a physical or a mental health impairment, or you can receive benefits for a combination of both physical and mental health impairments.

 Age is a very big factor for SSA when it comes to assessing physical disabilities. In general, in order to get Social Security Disability and/or Supplement Security Income if you are under 50 years of age, you will have to show that you cannot perform your past work or any other work in the national economy. Once you are over the age of 50, however, SSA will start to look at your work experience and the degree of physicality your past work required. If your physical impairment prevents you from performing your past work and you lack transferable skills to other work, SSA may find you disabled if the medical records and opinions from your doctor show that you have a limited capacity for lifting, carrying, standing and/or walking. This is referred to as “gridding” and SSA has a series of medical/vocational guidelines through the Code of Federal Regulations which explains how to apply these “grids, available at http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-app-p02.htm . Unfortunately, the grids only apply to physical impairments.  

 When it comes to mental health impairments, age is never a factor.  SSA assesses every claim the same way. Even if your mental health impairment prevents you from performing your past work, if you still have the ability to perform simple, repetitive tasks or follow one to two step directions, you are not disabled in SSA’s eyes. Thus, if you still have the ability to perform low stress and unskilled jobs, you are not disabled from a mental health standpoint based on SSA’s rules and regulations.

 Please keep in mind that when SSA is assessing one’s disability, they do not take into account how much money the individual used to earn. SSA expects individuals to work, even if the person’s disability prevents him or her from earning income at the level he or she is used to.  

 Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.