SSDI: These new changes will speed up the disability evaluation process

More often than not, the disability evaluation process and decisions take too long for SSDI applicants, so Social Security is improving this aspect

SSDI: These new changes will speed up the disability evaluation process

SSDI and faster decision making by Social Security

When a person applies for SSDI benefits is because they cannot continue working due to a disability. First, you need to make sure you have paid enough payroll taxes to Social Security.

If you did, then you must make sure you have medical evidence to prove you have a qualifying disability. Even if you have achieved these 2 goals, you may still have to wait for too long until Social Security makes a decision.

New changes to the SSDI disability evaluation process

In the first place, the Social Security Administration is making changes to past relevant work. Keep in mind that there were over 1.8 million applicants in 2023 (fiscal year) for both SSDI and SSI.

Until SSA made this new change, applicants had to provide their work history for the last 15 years. This is mainly because the inability to work is key to determining disability.

The new change came into effect last June 22, 2024. From then on, the Social Security Administration only considers the work history for the last 5 years and not the last 15. Making it much easier to track by both applicants and SSA’s agents.

SSDI applicant’s relevant jobs

Besides, work is no longer relevant if it lasted less than 30 calendar days. Even if these two changes are just minor ones, they can help speed up the process of filling out application forms.

For your information, certain types of skills can greatly deteriorate in just five years time. So, there is no point in taking into account the last 15 years of work. That is the case with manual skills.

Undoubtedly, the Administration will receive more accurate information, since it will be easier to recall. So, SSA’s agents will not have to spend so much time verifying data. Hopefully, millions of applicants can benefit from his reduction in processing times for SSDI and SSI benefits.

 

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