Social Security decides disability based on an individual's ability to work.

Diagnoses, or symptoms, are generally not sufficient to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. 

As a technical aside: Social Security does consider certain conditions as presumptively disabling such as blindness and there is also the Compassionate Allowance program that allows for rapid decisions of cases where an individual meets one of the covered conditions. [Read more here]. However, even in the case of blindness or one of the the compassionate allowance conditions, an individual can prove that he or she is not disabled by working. So, you can see how much importance Social Security places on the issue of work in deciding if someone is disabled.

The primary test for a Substantial Gainful Activity is earnings. The SGA earnings threshold changes from time to time. For 2010 and 2011 the SGA threshold amount was $1,000 per month before taxes. In 2012, the SGA amount is increasing to $1010 per month before taxes. 

Averaged monthly pre-tax earnings of $1,000 (in 2010 and 2011) or $1010 (in 2012), after reduction of any subsidies or impairment related work expenses (IRWEs) are considered a Substantial Gainful Activity. There is another exeption to earnings over the SGA amount: disabled soldiers who have not been separated from the service may be placed in a Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) or similar program. Since the soldier often receives full salary with minimal duties during this transition period, these earnings are a type of subsidy. This means soldiers in a WTU can still apply for Social Security benefits, even though their earnings may be over SGA. 

Many individuals work less and less and their disabilities get worse, or they try easier jobs. It is possible to claim disability during one of these unsuccessful work attempts even if the earnings were more than the SGA amount, IF the job lasted 6 months or less. 

Last updated on October 31, 2011 by stasiukfirm