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U.S. Social Security to Reduce Work History Period to 5 Years

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Social Security administers disability benefits through two programs: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Under both programs, the agency follows a five-step process to determine if an adult has a qualifying disability.

In line with President Biden’s Executive Order on improving federal customer service, the SSA has made changes aimed at easing the application process and increasing access to benefits for eligible people with disabilities.

On April 18, 2024, the SSA published a final rule titled “Intermediate Improvement to the Disability Adjudication Process: Including How We Consider Past Work.”

The rule updates the disability benefits application process and reduces wait times for decisions. It specifically simplifies step four, which assesses whether the applicant can perform any of their “past relevant work.”

This rule will ease the burden on applicants when reporting their work history, helping them focus on the most recent and relevant details. It also improves the quality of the information used in decision-making, leading to better customer service and shorter wait times

Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security

Starting June 22, 2024, the SSA will consider only the last five years of work history when reviewing past relevant work, instead of the previous 15-year requirement. This change reduces reporting difficulties for applicants and improves accuracy. The SSA will also no longer factor in jobs that lasted fewer than 30 days.

This rule is one of several recent updates aimed at improving the disability program. Other changes include expanding access to the SSI program by updating the public assistance household definition and removing food value from SSI benefit calculations.

The SSA also plans to extend its rental subsidy exception, currently available in seven states, to nationwide SSI applicants and recipients.

The SSA continues to review and adjust policies as needed. For more information on SSDI and SSI, including eligibility and application details, visit Disability | SSA and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) | SSA.

Yana Keller by Yana Keller