Age 50 & Older

Social Security Disability Insurance Claims by Older People

Depending on the age of the applicant, the Social Security Administration uses different rules to determine the eligibility of persons filing claims for disability insurance benefits. The medical-vocational disability guidelines that match particular impairments with different capacities for lighter or sedentary work change with the applicant's age. If you are 50 or older and want to learn more about the advantages your age can represent in a Social Security Disability Insurance claim, contact Salt Lake City SSDI benefits lawyer Ward Harper for a free consultation about your case.

Simply put, the older you are, the less difficult it is to prove your disability from full-time work, or "substantial gainful activity." Different medical-vocational guidelines are used for persons in each of the following age categories: younger than 45, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, and 60-64. A mental or physical impairment that would result in a denial of disability benefits for a 48-year-old might be approved for benefits at age 50, and so on.

The most significant shift to the advantage of older workers is the one between ages 49 and 50. For workers over 50, the medical-vocational guidelines begin to take full account of the combined effect that age, one or more physical or mental impairments, and limited or nontransferable job skills can have on the ability of a person to find and maintain full-time employment. The advantage becomes even stronger at each five-year interval after age 50.

With more than 20 years of experience concentrated on Social Security Disability Insurance litigation, Utah SSDI attorney Ward Harper knows how to use your age to maximum advantage in the proof of your claim. Keep in mind that only about a third of initial applications are approved, and that the denial rate on reconsideration is more than 90 percent. Ward Harper's clients tend to win their cases at the administrative appeals hearings stage. His success rate was a little better than 99% between 2001 and December 2008.

If you are 50 or older, contact Ward Harper at his Salt Lake City office for a free consultation about your Social Security insurance claim.