Disability over 50: Will I Qualify? How Much Should I Have Worked? What Do I Need?

Aging puts your body through its pace, often leading to health issues that can impact your ability to work. This interferes with earning a living at a time when your finances are the most vulnerable. If you find yourself unable to work due to health issues, you might find financial support through disability benefits. If you’re aged 50 or above and find yourself unable to work due to a disability, here we look at the essentials of disability over 50, including eligibility criteria, work credits, and the documentation you need to gather to apply for disability benefits.

Disability Over 50: Understanding Disability Benefits

First, you need to determine whether you qualify for disability benefits. In the United States, the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides two types of disability programs:

1. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is available for individuals who have worked and paid into Social Security with enough work credits and a medical condition expected to last at least a year or result in death.
2. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is available for those with limited income and resources and who have a disability expected to last at least a year or result in death.

Each follows a strict process with specific eligibility criteria.

Disability Over 50: Meeting the Eligibility Criteria

The SSA reviews your application to determine if you meet the criteria to qualify for disability benefits. The criteria used are based on the severity of your medical condition that must prevent you from performing substantial gainful activity (SGA) to earn a minimum income and that will last a year or result in death.

What is substantial gainful activity?

SGA is determined by how much money the SSA allows you to earn above and beyond what you earn each month on disability. You are allowed to work when receiving benefits. However, if you earn more than $1470 for non-blind individuals or more than $2460 for blind individuals, you are not considered disabled. The monthly amount is adjusted each year.

What are the special rules for disability over 50?

For those aged 50 or above, it can be easier to qualify, as the SSA considers the challenges you could face training for new skills to allow you to reenter the workforce. As a result, they consider age-related factors when you apply for American disability benefits over 50 using “grid rules.”

The SSA’s “grid rules” evaluate the severity of your disability to decide if your condition prevents you from performing not just your current work but any other type of work. Therefore, for disability for 50, the SSA assesses your “Residual Functional Capacity” to determine the amount of strength-related work you can perform. There are five categories of physical disability work levels:

1. Sedentary: Mostly Sitting with occasional walking and standing or lifting over 10 pounds.
2. Light: Sitting, walking, standing, pushing, and pulling with your legs with a lifting limitation of no more than 20 pounds and carrying up to 10 pounds.
3. Medium: Some of the light capabilities, but also able to lift up to 50 pounds and carry 25 pounds.
4. Heavy: The same as above but able to lift 100 pounds and carry up to 50 pounds.
5. Very Heavy: All of the heavy work but can lift over 100 pounds and carry over 50 pounds.

Disability Over 50 Vocational Factors

Vocational factors are based on special criteria to help determine if you can seek work in different capacities based on past work experience and education. The SSA wants to rule out any possibility of you finding employment beyond your physical abilities as they would prefer you to find an alternative way to earn a living.

The difference they place on people over 50 is you might find it more difficult to train and adjust to a new line of work. As a result, when applying for benefits over 50, you are more likely to be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits if the SSA finds you can perform a level of physical work but are less likely to adjust to the different skill sets required for this type of work.

Disability Benefits Over 50: SSDI Work Credits and Duration of Work

When applying for SSDI, regardless of your age, your work history and the number of work credits you have earned are critical when determining your eligibility. However, once again, disability over 50 is easier to acquire because you likely have worked long enough to earn the number of work credits required. The SSA uses your age to determine how many work credits you need, and when aged 50 to 60, you generally need at least seven years of work history, five of which must be recent. As with the SGA, however, the SSA might change the exact work credit requirements, so it’s essential to check with a disability advocate to understand the current criteria.

Disability 50 and Over: Gathering Documentation

Finally, the SSA must establish that you have the work history and a severe enough medical condition to qualify for disability benefits. As a result, you need to provide thorough documentation of your medical condition and work history, including:

• Medical records
• Test results
• Treatment details
• Comprehensive work history report

It’s crucial to gather all relevant information and ensure it is up to date before submitting your application, as the SSA will carefully review your documentation to determine your eligibility for benefits. They also look for signs of fraud and will be diligent at spotting discrepancies and inconsistencies, so honesty is important to help establish your credibility.

Disability For Over 50 Help: Speaking with an Advocate 

Because the rules for disability over 50 are complex, it is best to speak to a disability advocate before applying. They specialize in the disability benefits application process and understand how the information you gather and submit impacts your eligibility. Only 34 percent of people who file a disability claim without assistance are approved despite being qualified. As a result, you can greatly increase your chances of approval with the expertise and assistance of a disability advocate.

As you can see, although your age can increase your chances of being approved for disability benefits, disability over 50 is not an instant guarantee the SSA will approve your application. Therefore, to help ensure you receive over 50 disability benefits, you should speak to the disability advocates at Princeton Disability. They understand the social security disability over 50 processes and will take the necessary steps to help you get the benefits you deserve.