So, you’re not working now. You filed for disability. You got a million forms to fill out and just don’t have the energy to fill them out.
STOP. BREATHE. MAKE THE TIME. ASK FOR HELP.
Social Security sends a few types of forms to you to complete during this process. They may do it more than once. One of these is the Work History Report.
If you were over 50 years old when you stopped working, filling out this report is IMPORTANT!
Social Security can and will deny your case if they don’t have good information on the work you performed in the last 15 years.
When completing the Work History Report, these actions can make a huge difference in getting approved:
- BE SPECIFIC – the form asks you to describe tasks you did at your job(s). Do not skip over this or assume they understand ALL the tasks you had to do. List everything you can think of, even if you didn’t do it every day.
- BE PRECISE – the number of hours your worked, how long you were employed total, and your hourly pay/salary can determine if the job counts as past relevant work. This is a huge factor in a disability evaluation.
- BE CAREFUL – do not overestimate or underestimate the amount of time on your feet, how much you lifted, or how long you sat during your job(s). This can be a hard one, and maybe you didn’t lift #50 EVERY day, but if you lifted #50 even SOMETIMES, say so!
- BE MINDFUL – jobs don’t just require physical exertion, but mental exertion as well. Do not forget to include details about how often and in what ways you interacted with people at your job(s), if you had to complete tasks in a certain time frame, any tasks that required close concentration for extended periods of time, decision-making responsibilities you had, special computer programs or machines you had to use, etc.
Please reach out for assistance with these forms. You can request time with an attorney to complete these properly if you are struggling, or they can review what you’ve done before you send it back to Social Security.
