Changes in the disability application process will make it easier for people to receive benefits.
Previously, applicants seeking Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, and Supplemental Security benefits, known as SSI, had to provide 15 years of employment information. That has now been cut to five years of past information.
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“This new rule will lessen the burden and time our applicants face when filling out information about their work history and will make it easier for them to focus on the most current and relevant details about their past work,” Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, said in a statement. “It also improves the quality of the information our frontline workers receive to make decisions, improving customer service, and reducing case processing time and overall wait times.”
People seeking SSDI and SSI benefits must complete a multi-step application process in order to be approved, including showing their disability prevented them from doing substantial work for at least a year or is expected to result in death, Ann Biddle, Litigation Supervisor, Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project wrote in an SSA blog post. Work history is part of the equation but asking for 15 years of back information – including things like job titles, duties, dates, etc. – can be burdensome, she added.
The agency has also eliminated the requirement for employment information for any job that lasted less than 30 days. Both the changes, proponents said, will make it easier for people to apply and should speed up processing time once the agency receives an application.
More than 1.8 million people applied for disability through SSDI and SSI last year, according to the agency.