Qualifying for Harrisburg, York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania Social Security disability benefits: Can you do other work?

If you do not qualify for Pennsylvania disability benefits on the basis of your medical findings under Step 3 of the sequential evaluation process, and, under Step 4, you prove that you are unable to perform any “past relevant work,” your case moves on to Step 5, the final step. At step 5, the Social Security Administration considers whether you can do any other jobs considering your age education and past experience. Step 5 is the most complicated step in the sequential evaluation process. It involves:

  • Assessing your exertional functional capacity;
  • Categorizing your age, education, and experience;
  • Applying the Medical-Vocational Guidelines or grids; and
  • If you are not disabled under the grids, assessing your non-exertional limitations.

A Harrisburg Pennsylvania disability lawyer can assist you in evaluating a claim for benefits and proving that you are unable to perform other work.

Assessing your exertional residual functional capacity (RFC)

To decide whether you can do any jobs despite your impairment, the Social Security Administration will determine your residual functional capacity or RFC. RFC is your maximum remaining ability to do work activities on a regular and continuing basis, i.e., 8 hours a day for 5 days a week. In other words, it is the most you can do on a full-time basis.

In assessing your RFC, Social Security decision makers look at your exertional limitations, which are limitations on your ability to sit, stand, walk, lift, carry, push, and pull. These restrictions are classified as:

  • RFC for sedentary work. Sedentary work requires lifting no more than 10 pounds and occasionally lifting or carrying small articles. Sedentary jobs require periods of standing or walking generally totaling no more than about 2 hours of an 8-hour workday. Most unskilled sedentary jobs require good use of fingers and hands.
  • RFC for light work. Light work requires maximum lifting of 20 pounds and frequent lifting or carrying of up to 10 pounds with the ability to stand or walk for 6 hours of an 8-hour workday. The main difference between light and sedentary jobs is that light jobs require a significant amount of walking or standing.
  • RFC for medium work. Medium work requires maximum lifting of 50 pounds and frequent lifting of up to 25 pounds with the ability to stand or walk for 6 hours in an 8-hour workday.

Categorizing age, education, and prior work experience

After assessing your RFC for exertional limitations, Social Security Administration decision makers consider your age, education, and past work experience.

Age

There are four age categories:

  • Closely approaching retirement age—applicants between 60 and 64.
  • Advanced age—applicants between 55 and 59.
  • Closely approaching advanced age—applicants between 50 and 54.
  • Younger individual—applicants between 18 and 49.

Education

Social Security recognizes five categories of education:

  • High school education or higher; past relevant work provides for direct entry into skilled work.
  • High school education or higher; no past skills that provide for direct entry into semiskilled or skilled work.
  • Limited education, which is less than a high school education.
  • Marginal education, which is less than a 6th grade education.
  • Illiterate.

Past work experience

Social Security divides all past work into two categories:

  • Skilled and semi-skilled.
  • Unskilled, which is work that can be learned in 30 days or less.

Applying the Medical-Vocational Guidelines

After assessing your RFC and assigning you to categories for your age, education, and work experience, Social Security decision makers apply the Medical-Vocation Guidelines or grids to your particular situation. The grids consist of three charts, one for each level of exertion: sedentary, light, and medium. Each chart contains four vertical columns: age, education, previous work experience, and decision (disabled or not disabled). Social Security decision makers look at the chart that matches your RFC, and find the horizontal row that matches your age, education, and previous work experience. If the decision column says “disabled” you will be awarded benefits.

The concept underlying the grids is that the younger and better educated you are and the more work experience you have, the more easily you can adapt to a new job despite a medical impairment. As a general rule, to be disabled under the grids, a claimant under 50 must be unable to do even a sedentary job. A claimant between ages 50 and 54 must be unable to do light work and a claimant aged 55 or older must be unable to do medium work.

Example: A construction worker has an RFC that limits him to sedentary work because of a heart condition. He is 48 year old (a younger individual). He did not finish high school (a limited education). He has done heavy unskilled construction work since he began working in his teens. He is not disabled under the grids. But if that worker were 50 years old (closely approaching advanced age), with the same RFC, education, and work experience, he would be disabled under the grids.

Assessing non-exertional limitations

If you are not disabled under the grids, Social Security Administration decision makers next consider the effects of any non-exertional limitations you may have on your ability to hold down a full time job. Non-exertional limitations include:

  • Postural limitations. These are limitations on your ability to bend, stoop, climb, balance, kneel, crouch, and crawl.
  • Manipulative limitations. These are limitations on your ability to use your hands to reach, handle, finger, and feel.
  • Visual limitations. Considered are limitations on your ability to see objects up close, and at a distance, and on your depth perception, peripheral vision, and color vision.
  • Communication limitations on your ability to hear and speak.
  • Environmental restrictions. These are limitations on your ability to tolerate exposure to heat, cold, humidity, noise, vibrations, and odors.
  • Mental and cognitive limitations, which are limitations on your ability to remember, concentrate, interact with others, and adapt to change.

Even if you are not disabled under the grids, you may still be awarded Pennsylvania disability benefits if Social Security decides that your non-exertional limitations prevent you from being able to work.

A Harrisburg Pennsylvania disability lawyer can help

Proving that you have exertional and non-exertional limitations that prevent you from working given your age, education, and past experience is one important way that a successful Harrisburg disability lawyer helps claimants obtain their Pennsylvania disability benefits. If you are not already represented by a Harrisburg disability lawyer, and you would like an expert evaluation, please briefly describe your claim using the form to the right.