Changes To Past Relevant Work and Disability Determinations

In fiscal year 2023, more than 1.8 million people applied for disability benefits through Social Security’s two programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Until recently, Social Security required adult applicants to provide their work history going back 15 years. That’s because the inability to work is key to Social Security’s definition of disability.

In general, Social Security finds adult applicants to be disabled only if they have a severe medical condition that either prevents them from doing any substantial work for at least 1 year or is expected to result in death.

Based on this strict definition of disability for both SSDI and SSI, it’s not surprising that Social Security’s disability application focuses on a person’s illnesses and injuries, limitations, treatment, and work history.

But recalling the details of 15 years of employment – job titles, duties, dates, etc. – can be a major challenge. At the Urban Justice Center, our clients often struggle to provide accurate information from their past. To improve their work history narrative while their disability application is pending, we routinely help them to update and clarify information about their previous jobs.

Thankfully, Social Security recently published a new rule that reduces the period it considers when determining whether a person has past relevant work (PRW).

Effective June 22, Social Security began considering work going back 5 years, not 15. In addition, work is no longer relevant if the job lasted less than 30 calendar days.

You can read more about changes in the disability evaluation process in Social Security’s press release.

Decreasing the relevant work period from 15 to 5 years will make it easier for people to accurately report their work history. The reduction also makes sense given Social Security’s recent efforts to modernize the vocational policy that is used to make disability decisions. Research indicates that certain types of skills – namely, “manual” skills – can significantly deteriorate in 5 years.

The PRW changes will reduce the time it takes for applicants to fill out Social Security’s work history forms. This is a small step to simplifying the disability application process. Social Security also benefits by receiving better quality information earlier in the evaluation process.

Ultimately, millions of people applying for disability should see a reduction in processing times.

Our posting of this blog does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any non-Social Security organization, author, or webpages.