Disability Determination
When you apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the Social Security Administration (SSA) will look at everything you send with your application and use a five-step process to figure out if you meet their criteria for disability.
If Social Security says you have a disability, you may qualify for SSI if your resources and income are below SSI’s limits.
Note: This article has the rules for adults. Seniors may qualify for benefits without having a disability. Learn about the rules for children under 18 in DB101’s Benefits for Young People article.
Note: Social Security doesn't follow these steps if you're blind. Usually, if your vision in your better eye cannot be corrected to better than 20/200 or your field of view is 20 degrees or less, you’ll be considered blind. Learn more about Social Security’s rules on blindness.
Step 1: Are You Working at a Level of Substantial Gainful Activity?
If you are working and your monthly earnings before taxes are taken out are higher than the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level, usually you will not have a disability according to Social Security and you will not qualify for SSI benefits. In 2024, SGA is $1,550.
If you are not working or if your earnings are less than the SGA level, Social Security will move on to the next step to decide if you have a disability.
Mimi earns $27.50 per hour and works 60 hours per month. Her gross monthly earnings are $1,650 ($27.50 x 60), though after taxes are deducted, her actual paycheck is only $1,450.
Even though Mimi only gets $1,450 per month in checks, Social Security counts all of her $1,650 in gross monthly earnings. Since $1,650 is more than the SGA level ($1,550), Social Security will likely say she does not have a disability that stops her from working.
If your income is over the SGA level, there are some rules, called deductions, that might lower how much of your income Social Security counts and help you get SSI. The most common deductions are Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs) and subsidized earnings.
You have to tell Social Security about them when you apply for benefits.
SGA and Self-Employment
If you’re self-employed, Social Security looks at more than just your income, because the amount of money you actually get from your business depends on a lot of things. Instead, they use three tests.
If SSA decides that you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) using all three tests, you may qualify for SSI.
Note: If you are self-employed and either blind or over age 55, there are special SGA rules. For more information, Chat with a Hub expert.
Self-Employed Test 1: Significant Services and Substantial Income
If you do a lot of work that is important for your business and you get a lot of income from the business, Social Security will likely decide that you can support yourself (are doing SGA) and you won't qualify for SSI.
According to Social Security, the services you perform are significant if:
- You operate a business (other than a farm) all by yourself, or
- You and at least one other person run the business and you either do more than half of the management time or manage for at least 45 hours per month. For example, if it takes 60 hours a month to manage your business and you manage it for 35 of those hours, your services are significant.
According to Social Security, your income is substantial if:
- Your net countable income is greater than $1,550 per month. To figure out your net countable income, Social Security usually takes your net profit and reduces it a bit (7.65%), to take into account that self-employed people pay higher Social Security taxes. Then they deduct the value of unpaid help, Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs), and unincurred business expenses from your net income.
If Test 1 shows you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity, Social Security will move on to Test 2.
Self -Employed Test 2: Comparing Work Activity
Social Security will look at your work, including things like hours worked, skills needed, responsibilities, and effort involved, to see if it is about the same as the work done by people without disabilities who are in similar businesses in your community.
If your work activity is the same, Social Security will likely decide that you can work enough to support yourself (are doing SGA) and you will not qualify for SSDI.
If Test 2 shows you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity, Social Security will move on to Test 3.
Self-Employed Test 3: Worth of Work Activity
Social Security will look at your monthly work. If they think the work you do is worth more than $1,550 per month, or if you would have had to pay someone else at least $1,550 per month to do that work, Social Security will likely decide that you can work enough to support yourself (are doing SGA) and you won't qualify for SSI.
If Test 3 shows that you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity, Social Security will move on to step 2 of the disability determination process and you may qualify for SSI.
Step 2: Is Your Condition Severe?
For Social Security to say you have a disability, your condition must be expected to either:
- Significantly limit your ability to perform basic work activities for at least 12 consecutive months, or
- Result in death.
If it does, Social Security will move on to step 3 to decide if you have a disability.
If it does not, you will not be considered disabled and won't qualify for SSI benefits. You can appeal this decision.
Step 3: Is Your Condition on Social Security’s List of Impairments?
Social Security has a List of Impairments that automatically mean you have a disability. It includes many mental and physical conditions. If your condition is on the list, Social Security will decide that you have a disability and will skip steps 4 and 5.
If your condition is not on the list, Social Security will decide if your condition is as severe as a condition that is on the list. If it is, Social Security will decide that you have a disability and will skip steps 4 and 5.
If your condition is not as severe, Social Security will move on to steps 4 and 5 to decide if you have a disability.
Step 4: Can You Do the Same Work You Did Before?
If your condition doesn’t stop you from doing the work you did before, Social Security will say you do not have a disability and do not qualify for SSI benefits.
If your condition does stop you from doing the same work you did before, Social Security will move on to the fifth step to decide if you have a disability.
Luigi was a construction worker. He crashed his motorcycle one day and severely injured his knees. Because he has limited mobility and can no longer stand for long periods of time, he can’t do construction anymore.
Luigi cannot do the same work he did before and SSA will move on to step 5 to see if he has a disability.
Step 5: Can You Do Any Other Type of Work?
If you can’t do the work you used to do, Social Security will look at your age, education, skills, and condition to see if there is other work you could do.
If your condition doesn’t stop you from doing other work and earning at the SGA level, you won’t be considered to have a disability and will not qualify for SSI benefits.
While Luigi’s injury prevents him from doing construction on site, he has experience managing and could still manage construction projects from a desk, so Social Security might say he doesn’t have a disability.
If your condition does stop you from doing other work and earning at the SGA level, Social Security will say that you have a disability, as long as you have met the other four criteria.
If you have a disability, low resources, and low income, you may qualify for SSI benefits.
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