What Is the SSDI Approval Rate by Age?
Do you have a disability that has caused you to be unable to work? If so, you may find yourself struggling financially, and that’s understandable. It can be tremendously stressful to worry about how you’ll continue to pay your bills without an income. If you find yourself in this situation, you may be considering the possibility of filing a claim for disability benefits with the Social Security Administration. Let’s take a closer look at the types of benefits available and typical approval ratings by age.
What Benefits Are Available?
The Social Security Administration oversees two types of disability benefit programs, which may be available depending upon an applicant’s circumstances. These include:
- Social Security Disability Insurance: Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI benefits for short, are benefits that the Social Security Administration pays to “insured” individuals who have a disability that has rendered them unable to work for at least one continuous calendar year or more. SSDI benefits are funded through employment taxes. To be considered “insured” for the purpose of receiving benefits, an applicant must have worked at a job through which they regularly paid employment taxes from their salary into the Social Security system.
- Supplemental Security Income: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are designed for low-income individuals. As with SSDI benefits, those who seek SSI benefits must have a disability that has caused them to be unable to work for at least one full year or more. Because the SSI is funded through the general revenue and not through employment taxes, those who are seeking these benefits need not be “insured.”
Depending upon your circumstances, you may be able to seek one or both types of these benefits. For SSDI benefits specifically, approval ratings tend to get higher as individuals age, with some sources estimating the highest likelihood of approval to be more than 60% for those ages 60 to 65.
Approval ratings are typically only listed through age 65 because, beyond that point, beneficiaries transition from receiving disability benefits to receiving retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration.
Why Does Approval Tend to Go Up with Age?
As you may have noticed from the statistics above, approval ratings for SSDI benefits typically rise with age. Although there may be several reasons for this, a primary reason is that as we age, it becomes increasingly difficult to perform a variety of jobs.
When applicants are younger, they may apply for disability benefits because they can no longer do their particular job. While this may be true, it is possible that they may be able to receive training to perform a different job that still allows them to earn sufficient income to provide for themselves and their families.
As individuals age, their ability to perform a wide variety of jobs diminishes, thereby increasing the likelihood that the Social Security Administration will approve an application for benefits. When evaluating SSDI claims, the Social Security Administration frequently utilizes a chart known as the Medical-Vocational Grid, which helps the SSA consider the applicant’s age, education, training, and previous work experience to determine if a specific condition is disabling. These guidelines reflect the fact that older applicants are often less able to acquire the skills they may need to secure suitable employment.
Another factor that may affect increased approval ratings is the natural effects of aging itself. As people age, more conditions with increasingly severe symptoms may develop. This can become increasingly disabling, which in turn may lead to higher approval ratings for SSDI claims as well.
Should You Wait to Apply for Benefits?
Often, people who hear that approval ratings tend to rise with age wonder if they should wait to apply for SSDI benefits until they get older. This is a reasonable question to ask, but the short answer is that, generally, this is not advised. If you truly believe that you have a disability for which you might be awarded benefits, seeking the help of a knowledgeable and experienced attorney as soon as possible is important. You don’t want to miss out on your chance to receive disability benefits earlier rather than later, if possible.
American Disability Action Group – Here For You
If you are disabled and you are interested in seeking SSDI benefits from the Social Security Administration, you understandably want to do all you can to pursue those benefits as effectively and efficiently as possible. At American Disability Action Group, we’re here to help you do that. Our talented and experienced team of attorneys understands every aspect of the claims process, and we’ll always pursue the best legal strategies on your behalf as you seek the benefits you need. If you’re ready to get started, give us a call today. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Sources
- SSA Medical Vocational Grid: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.NSF/lnx/0425025035
- Overview of Disability Benefits: https://www.ssa.gov/redbook/eng/overview-disability