Getting approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is now much easier. The Social Security Administration has made a change to reduce the work history period required for review in the evaluation process from 15 to five years, simplifying the administrative burden for applicants, improving accuracy, and boosting chances of getting approved for benefits.
Reducing the Administrative Burden
Disability benefits are administered through SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). These programs both involve a five-step process that determines whether an adult has a qualifying disability and can receive financial benefits.
In response to President Biden’s Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, the agency made changes to reduce administrative burdens for all applications and open the door for more disabled people to receive government benefits if eligible.
Why SSDI Applications Just Got Easier
Social Security’s updates to SSDI evaluation will:
- Improve the application process for disability benefits.
- Reduce how long applicants must wait for a decision.
- Simplify step four of the view process, which assesses whether someone applying for benefits can perform any “past relevant work.”
- No longer require past worked that started and stopped in fewer than 30 calendar days.
With this rule, applicants will face less demands on their time when filling out work history. It will be easier to focus on current, relevant details about past work rather than attempting to itemize work history in its entirety. Most importantly, this high-quality information will reach frontline workers and decision makers in a better way, improving their delivery of customer service, reducing case processing time, and minimizing overall wait time.
Other Upcoming SSDI Application Changes
Social Security is working further to improve its disability program with other regulations by:
- Updating the definition of a public assistance household.
- Excluding the value of food from SSI benefit calculations.
- Expanding its rental subsidy exception to include all states.
Get Help Filing Your SSDI Application from the Start
Thanks to this Social Security change, disability paperwork is reduced. Inaccuracies are reduced. It’s easier to get your foot in the door and get the benefits you deserve. Even with this significant change, it’s still important to get your application submitted properly, in full, and in a timely manner so you give yourself the best chance of a positive response from the agency.
You are most likely to get every detail right on your application and reduce the need for an appeal by working with an experienced SSDI attorney. Rushing to complete an application, especially now that less information is required, is never a good idea – take your time, get professional support, and you’ll see benefit checks sooner than you thought possible.
Get help applying for SSDI or SSI disability benefits. Schedule a consultation with Thurswell Law by calling (248) 354-2222 today. We do not charge any fees until we win.