The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program provides disability benefits to over 7 million disabled Americans. SSDI benefits are a key component of Social Security, providing a small but essential benefit to workers who are permanently disabled and unable to support themselves. Recent news has revealed that the Social Security Administration will remove 114 occupations, including railroad telegrapher and reptile farmer, from the list of viable occupations for those applying for disability benefits. If you are currently eligible for disability benefits, here’s all the information about the new official changes that will soon take effect.
Social Security Changes Process for Determining Disability Benefits
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs use this list to evaluate an applicant’s ability to find work elsewhere. Applicants may be denied benefits and declared “not disabled” based solely on this list of occupations, or they may be advised to look for work in one of the fields specified in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Although the Department of Labor stopped using this list decades ago, the Social Security Administration still uses it to reach a conclusion when evaluating applications for disability benefits.
“While our disability determination process remains robust, we are always looking for improvements to keep our disability program current and reduce the burden on consumers,” the SSA said. The agency also said that 13 occupations will require additional support before an applicant can be listed as eligible to work. Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley also told Newsweek that it makes sense to identify occupations that are currently underrepresented in the nation’s economy. With this change, decision makers will no longer use these occupations as a reason to deny a disability claim.
Move to eliminate some employment disability benefits
In July, Americans celebrate Disability Pride Month, commemorating the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act more than 30 years ago. According to 2021 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 42.5 million people with disabilities in the United States, roughly 13% of the nation’s non-institutionalized civilian population. This group includes people who have challenges with mobility, hearing, vision, cognitive function, self-care, or independent living.
Since its founding in 1935, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has actively helped millions of retired workers, survivors, disabled workers, and low-income seniors meet living expenses and, in some cases, combat poverty. Through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, millions of disabled Americans who are unable to work or financially support their families receive monthly benefits to cover living expenses.
The Social Security Administration also stressed that while its disability determination process remains robust, it is constantly looking for ways to make it more accessible to customers and to modernize its disability programs. The administration further stated that it expects to consider only the most relevant occupations when assessing whether applicants for disability benefits can work in other fields.
Many people, especially Americans with disabilities who believed the system had let them down, have applauded the move. However, the collateral damage this move has caused to the disability community over the years may not be as easy to reverse as the SSA thinks, as several others have pointed out. That said, this move will likely improve access to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program for millions of people with disabilities. At this point, we can all expect the SSA to move forward with this change as quickly as possible, improving the chances that new applicants across the country will be approved for disability benefits.