(NewsNation) — The Social Security Administration has announced major changes that could make more people eligible for disability benefits.
The agency has updated the list of occupations it uses to evaluate disability compensation claims.
The SSA removed 114 occupations, including those that exist in “very limited numbers, if any,” such as agricultural technicians, astronomers and scuba divers.
“Based on the findings of this investigation, the agency will not use these occupations as the basis for a ‘not disabled’ determination at the final stage of the disability evaluation process,” the Department of Social Services said in a statement.
Buildings are constantly being constructed. AI and new technologies are changing the way buildings are constructed.
The move is intended to allow the Social Security Administration to be more specific about whether people applying for disability benefits can get other jobs.
Critics have called the SAA database “unfair and flawed,” CBS News reported. “The database was last updated in 1977 and includes dozens of outdated occupations.”
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“It makes sense to identify occupations that currently exist in very limited numbers in the nation’s economy,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said in a statement. “With this update, the agency will no longer cite these occupations when denying disability applications.”
The Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy posted on X that these changes would “make life easier for millions of people,” and “problems identified in a 2012 study led by Sen. Tom Coburn — that will take 12 years to fix.”
The SSA administers disability benefits through two programs: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.