Step Five: Functional Capacity Evaluation, Age, Education, & Other Work

In the fifth and final step of the five-step sequential evaluation process, the Social Security Administration will evaluate your residual functional capacity (RFC), determined in step four, alongside factors such as age, education, and work experience. This step aims to assess whether you can adapt to other types of employment if you are unable to perform past relevant work.

Your past relevant work remains crucial at this stage because any skills acquired in that work may be transferable to other, less physically demanding roles. Even if these alternative jobs offer significantly lower pay than the claimant’s previous work, the Social Security Administration focuses on your ability to transition to a different type of employment.

The Social Security Administration doesn’t weigh heavily whether the potential alternative jobs match your previous salary. This aspect can be frustrating for individuals who may face the prospect of taking on significantly lower paying positions due to their limitations.

However, there are limitations to the expectations placed on individuals with disabilities. For instance, older claimants, especially those aged 60 and above, may not be expected to acquire new skills, especially those like computer proficiency, if they have not used such skills before. The Social Security Administration recognizes that older individuals may find it more challenging to adapt to different work environments, especially if it requires substantial retraining or education.

To guide these expectations, the Social Security Administration employs the use of the “grids,” which outline what types of work individuals of certain ages and residual functional capacities are expected to perform based on their vocational profiles. Generally, older claimants, particularly those over 50, may have an easier time gaining approval for Social Security Disability due to these considerations.

Once a claimant establishes that they are not engaged in substantial gainful activity, their impairment is expected to last a year or longer, their RFC prevents them from returning to past relevant work or other work in significant numbers, they become eligible for approval of Social Security Disability benefits.

For more information on Step Five Of The Five Step Sequential Evaluation Process, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (833)444-4127 today.