The Social Security Administration (SSA) has revealed major updates to its disability assistance program. The agency has revised the criteria for determining eligibility for disability benefits. The SSA identified that certain job roles deemed appropriate for individuals with disabilities were not widely accessible within the U.S. job market.
The SSA pinpointed 114 job titles, including positions such as models, astronomers, and agricultural engineers, which have a scarcity of available work. These job categories will no longer be factored into the SSA’s evaluation process. Furthermore, the SSA highlighted 13 types of jobs where judges have expressed concerns regarding the classification of workers as “not disabled.” Moving forward, the SSA will take into account the availability of jobs in the labor market for these individuals as part of its review.
Revising criteria for disability benefits
Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley stated, “Our evaluators will henceforth refrain from using these jobs as grounds for denying disability support applications following this revision.
The SSA will depend on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Requirements Survey to inform future modifications. As of May, there were 7.23 million individuals receiving Social Security disability benefits, which reflects a decline of 20,000 from the preceding month.
The average monthly benefit was slightly above $1,500, cumulatively amounting to over $11 million for that month. Retirement expert Burt Williamson noted that this reduction could stem from multiple elements, such as deaths, transitions from disability to retirement benefits, or ineligibility. However, he mentioned that this is conjectural.
This adjustment marks a vital advancement in refining the criteria for evaluating disability benefits. It guarantees that only pertinent job opportunities are taken into consideration in the SSA’s assessment procedures.
