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Are you disabled? How does social security determine this? There are at least a couple of different ways to answer the question of how the social security administration determines if an individual is disabled. One is this: if you have a condition, mental or physical, that is listed in the SSA impairment listing manual (often referred to as the blue book) and your medical records indicate that you meet or equal the various requirements of a listing, you may be approved for social security disability or SSI. I used the word "may" because medical factors are not the only issues involved when it comes to rendering a decision on an SSD or SSI disability claim. For instance, if an individual is not insured for title II social security disability benefits, they will not be eligible to receive them, whether they satisfy the requirements of a listing or not. Likewise, if an individual has countable assets in excess of the SSI asset limit, they will not be eligible to receive ssi disability either even if they satisfy a listing (and, in fact, there are cases where individuals are not insured for SSD AND do not qualify for SSI due to assets). A second way to address the question of whether or not an individual is disabled in the eyes of the social security administration is this: if you have a medical condition that limits your ability to work and earn a substantial and gainful income for at least a year, you may qualify for social security disability or ssi disability benefits. This is actually how most individuals who win disability benefits are approved. Most individuals who for file do not qualify on the basis of meeting or equaling a listing, but, rather, qualify on the basis of sequential evaluation. What do I mean by this? Basically this. If your condition does not satisfy a listing in the blue book, a disability examiner (examiners handle disability decisions at the first two levels of the process) or a disability judge (who presides at a disability hearing) will consider the following--- 1. Is your condition severe, or are your conditions severe? 2. Does your condition prevent you from returning to your past work (generally work that you did for at least a year and performed some time in the last 15 years) ? 3. Does your condition prevent you from doing other work (after consideration of your age, the job skills you possess, your education level, and the kinds of limitations you have as a result of your condition? 4. Has your condition lasted a year, or can it be projected to last at least a year? If the answer to all four questions is yes, you may qualify for either social security disability or SSI disability, assuming, of course, that you satisfy the nonmedical requirements for either program. 
Social Security Disability and SSI Disability Information
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