The Issue of “Young Individuals” and Social Security Disability

In Social Security Disability the term “young individual” does not necessarily mean what many assume it to mean – young adults. Instead, the term young individual is used to include all individuals who are under the age of 50. This age category is important to note because a young individual essentially has the highest burden to prove they are “disabled” under the Social Security Disability regulations. There two ways a young individual may prove they are disabled under the law. First, the individual could prove that they meet or equal a medical listing. The listings are a group of illnesses that the Social Security Administration will approve disability for as long as the all the requirements of the listing are met. However, proving disability based on a listing can be quite difficulty due to the very specific requirements needed to meet the listing. The second way for a young individual to prove they are disabled is to prove they are disabled through their physical or mental limitations caused by their conditions. In simple terms, the young individual must prove that they cannot perform any competitive employment available in the economy. This means they will have to show that they are unable to perform any job eight hours a day, five days a week (full-time). This basically means they will have to show are unable to perform even the most simple, unphysical, and/or uncomplicated job. Overall, young individuals essentially need to prove that they would be unable to maintain the concentration, persistence, and pace of any job. This could be shown in several ways such as showing they would miss work consistently (i.e., call in, come in late, leave early), would be off task if they were working, or require frequent unscheduled breaks. Overall, while individuals under 50 years old can still be awarded Social Security Disability benefits, it is important to fully understand the burden you must prove. Therefore, it is crucial to work with an experienced law firm in order to understand whether your specific case would meet this burden.