Learn how disability is defined for benefits

Disability is something many people aren’t faced with in a direct way. The reality is, a 20-year-old worker has a 1-in4 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age. That makes Social Security disability benefits something you should learn about and understand.

One fact you should know is Social Security’s definition of disability: the inability to work because of a severe condition that is expected to last for a year or end in death.

Other disability programs may have partial disability or short-term disability, but federal law requires a stricter definition of disability for Social Security benefits. The definition of disability used to qualify you for Social Security Disability Insurance is generally the same one that is used for Supplemental Security Income benefits.

Most people focus on the medical severity of their condition when filing for disability benefits. They provide medical records that show how severe the condition is. Since Social Security defines severity in terms of being unable to work, we also need complete work information.

Read about the process of evaluating whether you can work or not and the severity of your condition in our pub- lication, Disability Benefits, at socialsecurity.gov/ pubs/EN05-10029.pdf, under the section, “How we make the decision.” Understanding how we make the disability decision helps you see the importance of information you provide about your condition and the types of work you have done. For more information about how we evaluate your work, review this section on our website: socialsecurity.gov/ disability/step4and5.htm.