Social Security Disability Glossary

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1619(b)

1619(b) is the section of the Social Security Act that lets some SSI recipients keep Medicaid after their earnings become too high for an SSI cash payment. To qualify, you must have been eligible for an SSI payment for at least one month, still meet the disability and other SSI rules, need Medicaid to keep working, and have earnings too low to replace SSI, Medicaid, and publicly funded attendant care. Read more

Source: SSA, Continued Medicaid Eligibility (Section 1619(b))

A

Administrative law judge (ALJ)

An administrative law judge (ALJ) is the Social Security judge who holds your hearing when you appeal an earlier decision, such as a denial at reconsideration. The ALJ explains the issues, may question you and your witnesses under oath, may call medical or vocational experts, and then issues a written decision based on the evidence. Hearings can happen in person, by video, or by phone. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.929 and SSA, The Hearing Process

Adult child benefits (childhood disability benefits)

Adult child benefits, which SSA calls childhood disability benefits, are monthly Social Security payments to an unmarried adult, age 18 or older, whose disability began before age 22. The benefit is paid on the earnings record of an insured parent who is entitled to retirement or disability benefits, or who has died, rather than on the adult child's own work record. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.350

Appeals Council

The Appeals Council is the level of SSA review that comes after an administrative law judge's decision. You generally have 60 days after you receive the hearing decision to ask for review in writing. The Appeals Council can deny or dismiss the request, or it can grant review and then issue its own decision or send the case back to a judge. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.967 and 404.968

Average indexed monthly earnings (AIME)

Average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) is the figure SSA builds from your earnings record to compute your Social Security benefit. SSA indexes your past earnings, selects the years with the highest indexed earnings, totals them, and divides by the number of months in those years. The AIME then feeds the formula that produces your primary insurance amount. Read more

Source: SSA Office of the Chief Actuary, Benefit Calculation Examples

B

Blue Book (Listing of Impairments)

The Blue Book is the informal name for Disability Evaluation Under Social Security, the SSA guide that contains the Listing of Impairments, and the agency's own web address for the guide uses the word bluebook. Part A of the listings applies to adults age 18 and over and is organized by major body system, while Part B holds additional criteria for children. Read more

Source: SSA, Listing of Impairments (overview)

C

Compassionate Allowances

Compassionate Allowances is an SSA program that quickly identifies diseases and other medical conditions that clearly meet Social Security's disability standard, so people with the most serious disabilities wait less for a decision. The conditions include certain cancers and adult brain disorders, among others. SSA applies the same rules to these conditions whether the claim is for SSDI or SSI. Read more

Source: SSA, Compassionate Allowances

Consultative examination (CE)

A consultative examination (CE) is a physical or mental exam or test that SSA requests and pays for when the medical evidence in your file is missing or not enough to decide the claim. Your own treating source may perform it, or an independent source may. SSA decides case by case whether to purchase one, and the rules also apply at the reconsideration and hearing levels.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1519 and SSA, Disability Determination Process

Continuing disability review (CDR)

A continuing disability review (CDR) is SSA's periodic check, after you have been approved, of whether you are still eligible for disability benefits. SSA gathers current information about your condition to make that decision. The regulations list certain events that can prompt a review, and the result decides whether your benefits continue or stop.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1589

D

Date last insured (DLI)

The date last insured (DLI) is the last day of the calendar quarter in which you still meet insured status for disability benefits. For an SSDI claim, SSA cannot set the start of your disability after this date, so the evidence has to show you were disabled on or before it. The DLI limit applies to title II claims such as SSDI. Read more

Source: SSA POMS DI 25501.320

Deeming

Deeming is the SSI rule that counts part of another person's income as your own, whether or not that money is actually available to you. For adult claimants, deeming can involve an ineligible spouse who lives in the same household. It can also apply to the sponsor of a noncitizen, and for sponsors who signed the current affidavit of support it generally continues until the noncitizen becomes a citizen or another ending event occurs. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 416.1160

Disability determination services (DDS)

Disability determination services (DDS) are the state agencies, fully funded by the federal government, that make the initial medical decision on disability claims. DDS staff gather records from your own medical sources, arrange a consultative examination when the evidence is missing or not enough, and then decide whether you are disabled or blind under the law. Read more

Source: SSA, Disability Determination Process

Disabled widow's or widower's benefits

Disabled widow's or widower's benefits are monthly survivor payments for a widow or widower age 50 or older who has a disability, paid on the record of the insured spouse who died. The disability generally must start no later than seven years after the worker's death, or after certain earlier survivor benefits ended, and a five-month waiting period usually applies. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.335

Duration requirement

The duration requirement is the rule that your impairment must have lasted, or be expected to last, for a continuous period of at least 12 months, unless it is expected to result in death. A serious condition that is expected to resolve within a year does not meet this rule, even if it keeps you from working for a time.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1509

E

Established onset date (EOD)

The established onset date (EOD) is the date SSA finds your disability began for benefit purposes. Generally, it is the earliest date on which you meet both the definition of disability and the non-medical requirements during the period your application covers. For an SSDI claim, the EOD must fall on or before your date last insured.

Source: SSR 18-01p

Expedited reinstatement (EXR)

Expedited reinstatement (EXR) is a way to ask SSA to restore your earlier disability entitlement, rather than start a brand new claim, after benefits ended because of work. You can request it if you stop working at the substantial gainful activity level within 60 months of the month your benefits ended. SSA's Red Book describes it as a safety net for people who return to work.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1592b and the Red Book glossary

Extended period of eligibility (EPE)

The extended period of eligibility (EPE) is the 36-month period that follows an SSDI trial work period. Once SSA finds your work is at the substantial gainful activity level, benefits continue for that month and the next two, then stop for months above that level. If your work drops back below it during the period, benefits can restart without a new application.

Source: SSA Red Book glossary and 20 CFR 404.1592a

Extreme limitation

An extreme limitation, on SSA's five-point scale for mental disorders, means you are not able to function in an area independently, appropriately, effectively, and on a sustained basis. It is the most severe rating on the scale. In the adult mental disorder listings, an extreme limitation in one of the four areas of mental functioning can satisfy the paragraph B criteria.

Source: SSA Listing 12.00, Mental Disorders (Adult)

F

Field office

A field office is a local Social Security office whose representatives usually take applications for disability benefits, which you can file in person, by phone, by mail, or online. The field office checks the non-medical rules, such as age, work history, marital status, and Social Security coverage, and then sends the case to the state DDS for the medical decision. Read more

Source: SSA, Disability Determination Process

Five-step sequential evaluation

The five-step sequential evaluation is the order SSA follows to decide adult disability claims. It checks whether you are working at the substantial gainful activity level, whether you have a severe impairment that meets the duration rule, whether it meets or equals a listing, whether you can still do past relevant work, and whether you can adjust to other work. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.1520

G

Good cause

Good cause is an acceptable reason for missing an SSA appeal deadline, which lets SSA extend the time to request review. SSA looks at what kept you from filing on time, whether its own action misled you, and any physical, mental, educational, or linguistic limitations. Examples include serious illness, a death in the family, and never receiving the notice. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.911

Grid rules (medical-vocational guidelines)

The grid rules, formally the medical-vocational guidelines, are tables in SSA's regulations that combine your residual functional capacity with your age, education, and work experience. When every finding matches a rule, the rule directs a decision of disabled or not disabled. When the findings do not fit a rule exactly, the grids serve as a framework for the decision instead. Read more

Source: 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2

H

Hearing office

A hearing office is the SSA office that handles your case after you request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Hearing office staff schedule the hearing, send notices by mail to the address on your application, and may call you. SSA sends the hearing notice at least 75 days before the hearing date unless you agree to waive that notice period. Read more

Source: SSA, The Hearing Process

I

Impairment-related work expenses (IRWE)

Impairment-related work expenses (IRWE) are out-of-pocket costs for items and services you need in order to work because of your impairment, which SSA can subtract from your earnings when it decides whether your work counts as substantial gainful activity. You must pay the cost yourself, and SSA will not deduct amounts that insurance or another source reimburses. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.1576

In-kind support and maintenance (ISM)

In-kind support and maintenance (ISM) is shelter that someone else gives you or pays for, which SSA counts for SSI and which can reduce your SSI payment. Shelter includes rent, mortgage payments, property taxes, and utilities such as heating fuel, electricity, and water. Since September 30, 2024, food alone generally no longer reduces SSI. Read more

Source: SSA, SSI Spotlight on Living Arrangements, and 20 CFR 416.1130

Insured status

Insured status means you have worked long enough, and recently enough, in jobs covered by Social Security to qualify for SSDI. In general, if you are 31 or older when disability begins, you need at least 20 work credits in the 10 years before it began, and you must also be fully insured. Younger workers and people who are blind have special rules.

Source: 20 CFR 404.130 and SSA, Social Security Credits

L

Light work

Light work, in SSA's exertional levels, means lifting no more than 20 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects up to 10 pounds. A job also counts as light when it calls for a good deal of walking or standing, or mostly sitting with some pushing and pulling of arm or leg controls. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.1567(b)

Listing

A listing is one entry in SSA's Listing of Impairments that describes, for a major body system, a condition SSA considers severe enough to prevent any gainful activity, regardless of age, education, or work experience. If your impairment meets or medically equals a listing and meets the duration requirement, SSA finds you disabled at step three without going further.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1525

M

Marked limitation

A marked limitation, on SSA's five-point scale for mental disorders, means your ability to function in an area independently, appropriately, effectively, and on a sustained basis is seriously limited. It sits between moderate and extreme. In the adult mental disorder listings, marked limitations in two of the four areas of mental functioning can satisfy the paragraph B criteria. Read more

Source: SSA Listing 12.00, Mental Disorders (Adult)

Medical equivalence

Medical equivalence is SSA's finding that your impairment, while not matching a listing's exact criteria, is at least equal in severity and duration to a listed impairment. SSA can find it in three ways: a listed condition missing some findings but with others of equal medical significance, an unlisted condition compared with a close listing, or a combination of impairments.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1526

Medically determinable impairment (MDI)

A medically determinable impairment (MDI) is a physical or mental impairment established by objective medical evidence from an acceptable medical source. SSA will not use your statement of symptoms, a diagnosis, or a medical opinion to establish that the impairment exists. A severe MDI is what SSA looks for at step two of the five-step evaluation.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1521

Medicare waiting period

The Medicare waiting period is the first 24 months of SSDI benefit entitlement, after which a person receiving SSDI becomes eligible for Medicare. The 24 months count from the month SSDI entitlement begins, not from the date you applied or became disabled, so the separate five-month SSDI waiting period comes before it. People with ALS do not serve this wait.

Source: SSA, Medicare (work incentives)

Medium work

Medium work, in SSA's exertional levels, means lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. Under the regulation, if someone can do medium work, SSA determines that he or she can also do sedentary and light work.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1567(c)

my Social Security

my Social Security is SSA's personal online account for managing your Social Security information and benefits without calling or visiting an office. With it you can review your earnings record for accuracy, get your Social Security Statement, update your mailing address or direct deposit, and print proof of benefits or tax forms.

Source: SSA, my Social Security

O

On-the-record decision

An on-the-record decision is a favorable decision an administrative law judge issues without holding an oral hearing, because the evidence in the hearing record supports a finding in your favor on every issue. The notice of that decision must tell you that you still have the right to request an oral hearing and to review the evidence. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.948

P

Past relevant work (PRW)

Past relevant work (PRW) is work you did within the past five years that was substantial gainful activity and lasted long enough for you to learn to do it. At step four, SSA compares your residual functional capacity with the demands of this work, and if you can still do it, SSA finds you not disabled. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.1560(b)

Past-due benefits

Past-due benefits are the total Social Security title II benefits that build up because of a favorable decision, counted up to but not including the month of the decision. SSA uses this amount, figured before any reduction for SSI received for the same months, when it calculates fees for representation, and it excludes continued benefits and interim benefits. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.1703

Plan to achieve self-support (PASS)

A plan to achieve self-support (PASS) is an SSI work incentive that lets you set aside income and resources over a reasonable time to reach a work goal. Under an approved plan, SSA does not count the income you use or set aside for expenses it finds reasonable and necessary to fulfill the plan.

Source: SSA Red Book glossary and 20 CFR 416.1180

Primary insurance amount (PIA)

The primary insurance amount (PIA) is the basic figure SSA uses to set the monthly benefit payable to you and your family. SSA computes it from your average indexed monthly earnings using a formula with bend points that change each year. For SSDI, your monthly benefit equals your PIA, subject to reductions such as those for workers' compensation. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.201 and 404.317

Protective filing date

A protective filing date is the date of a written statement showing your intent to claim benefits, which SSA can treat as the filing date of your application. The statement must be signed by you or another allowed person, and you must file the full application within six months after SSA sends a notice telling you to apply.

Source: 20 CFR 404.630

Q

Quick disability determination (QDD)

Quick disability determination (QDD) is a fast-track process for claims that SSA identifies as having a high degree of probability that the person is disabled, where the allegations can be easily and quickly verified. A designated examiner at the state agency decides these claims based only on the medical and nonmedical evidence in the file.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1619

R

Reconsideration

Reconsideration is the first step in SSA's administrative review process when you disagree with the initial decision on your claim. You generally must request it within 60 days after you receive the notice, and SSA treats the notice as received five days after the date on it unless you show you did not receive it in that time. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.907, 404.909 and 404.901

Representative payee

A representative payee is a person or organization SSA appoints to manage Social Security or SSI payments for a beneficiary who cannot manage them. The payee handles the money on the beneficiary's behalf and must keep records of how the payments are spent or saved, and SSA can ask to review those records.

Source: SSA, Representative Payee Program

Residual functional capacity (RFC)

Residual functional capacity (RFC) is SSA's finding about the most you can still do in a work setting despite the physical and mental limitations caused by your impairments and related symptoms, such as pain. SSA assesses it from all relevant evidence in your case record before step four, then uses it at steps four and five.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1545

Retroactive benefits

Retroactive benefits are SSDI payments for months before the month you applied, available for up to 12 months before your application if you met every requirement in those months. SSI works differently: it cannot pay for the month you applied or any earlier month, so the earliest SSI payment month is the one after you filed. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.621 and 416.335

S

Sedentary work

Sedentary work, in SSA's exertional levels, means lifting no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying items such as files, ledgers, and small tools. A sedentary job is defined as one that involves sitting, though a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary, as long as it is required only occasionally.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1567(a)

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is the federal program that pays monthly benefits to people who have worked long enough, and recently enough, in jobs covered by Social Security and who now have a qualifying disability. The condition must prevent work at the substantial gainful activity level and must have lasted or be expected to last 12 months or result in death.

Source: SSA, Who Can Get SSDI

Substantial gainful activity (SGA)

Substantial gainful activity (SGA) is work that involves doing significant physical or mental activities for pay or profit. SSA generally uses earnings guidelines to judge whether your work reaches this level. If you are doing SGA, SSA finds you not disabled at step one of the five-step evaluation, without looking at your medical condition. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.1572 and SSA Red Book glossary

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a needs-based program that pays monthly benefits to people with limited income and resources who are blind, age 65 or older, or have a qualifying disability. SSA runs SSI, but it is financed by general funds of the U.S. Treasury, and Social Security payroll taxes do not fund it. Read more

Source: SSA, Understanding SSI

T

Ticket to Work

Ticket to Work is a free and voluntary SSA program that connects SSDI recipients age 18 through 64, and people receiving SSI because of a disability, with employment services. Authorized providers, such as Employment Networks and state vocational rehabilitation agencies, offer career counseling, vocational rehabilitation, job placement, and training. Read more

Source: SSA Ticket to Work, How It Works

Transferable skills

Transferable skills are abilities from your past work that SSA finds you could use in other jobs. Transfer is most likely when the other work requires the same or a lesser degree of skill and uses the same or similar tools, machines, materials, products, processes, or services. For claimants 55 or older limited to sedentary or light work, SSA applies stricter rules.

Source: 20 CFR 404.1568(d)

Trial work period (TWP)

The trial work period (TWP) is an SSDI work incentive that lets you test your ability to work for at least nine months while still being considered disabled. The nine service months do not need to be consecutive, and the period ends once you have used nine of them within a rolling window of 60 consecutive months. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.1592

V

Vocational expert (VE)

A vocational expert (VE) is a job specialist SSA uses, most often at a hearing before an administrative law judge, to give evidence about the requirements of jobs and occupations, including complex questions such as whether work skills carry over to other jobs. Under SSR 24-3p, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles is a valid source but not the only one, and the VE is expected to identify the data sources behind the testimony. Read more

Source: SSR 24-3p and 20 CFR 404.1566(e)

W

Waiting period

The waiting period is the five full consecutive months of disability that must pass before SSDI entitlement can begin. It starts with a month in which you were both insured and disabled, and it can begin no earlier than the 17th month before the month you apply. There is no waiting period for people with ALS approved on or after July 23, 2020, or for people entitled to disability benefits within the prior 5 years. Read more

Source: 20 CFR 404.315

Work credits

Work credits are the units SSA uses to measure your work history, based on your total wages and self-employment income for the year. You can earn up to four credits per year, and the earnings needed for one credit change each year. SSDI eligibility depends on both a recent work test and a duration work test built on these credits. Read more

Source: SSA, Social Security Credits