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If you have been notified by the Social Security Administration that you are denied Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits because you are “able to return to past work,” you may be wondering exactly how that determination was made. If the state disability determination services (DDS) agency has informed you that you do not qualify for disability payments because you are able to return to your past work, that means that A) Social Security does not think your functional limitations are severe enough to keep you from working, and B) Social Security does not think your functional limitations are severe enough to prevent you from working in a job you have performed in the past. How does the DDS examiner decide if you are still capable of performing your past work? The answer to this question is: through the medical and work history that you provide. All SSD and SSI cases are decided by a disability examiner (or judge) who, after reviewing a claimant’s medical records and work history, will write a residual functional capacity report, or (RFC). An RFC details exactly what tasks an applicant can still perform given their current medical circumstances. Some RFC ratings indicate that a claimant may return to medium exertion work activity, while some provide a restriction that the individual may perform only light exertion work activity. If a claimant’s RFC indicates that the level of activity he or she can perform matches up with past work duties, then the claimant will be deemed fit to work, and thus is ineligible to collect disability benefits. This is why it is so important to take the time to thoroughly document all of your medical information; any physician or medical facility from which you have received treatment. The examiner deciding your case is not likely to go looking for information to support your claim—it’s up to you to make sure the examiner has all the information necessary to get copies of medical records and doctors’ notes that support your claim of disability. This includes any names, addresses, diagnoses, and prescription information associated with your past medical treatment. Likewise you must make sure to give a detailed description of your past jobs. Do not just provide a disability examiner with your job title, as these titles can encompass different duties at different companies. For instance, at some companies a receptionist may only answer phones and do some light filing, while at others a great deal of typing may be required (and therefore not an option for employment of those with arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.). By providing your examiner with a complete work history, including job duties and correct contact information of your supervisors to confirm those duties, you can help a disability examiner to better understand exactly what your past work involved before making a determination as to whether you are able to return to it. 
Social Security Disability and SSI Disability Information
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