You Are Closely Approaching Advanced Age or Have Reached Advanced Age

The vocational expert’s primary roles in the hearing are providing insight about the Claimant’s past relevant work as performed and as listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), providing information about the ability of hypothetical workers to perform jobs, as well as how many of those jobs exist in the national economy, and also providing information regarding transferable skills that Claimant might have acquired through their Past Relevant Work (PRW).  

The Social Security disability evaluation changes when a claimant reaches age 50 and again when the claimant reaches age 55. If you are over the age of 50, limited to unskilled sedentary work, and the vocational expert testifies that you have no transferable skills and are unable to return to any of your past relevant work, then you win. There are similar situations where you win at age 55 or older.

Your attorney should not ask the vocational expert any questions that try to exclude work at the sedentary level (if you’re age 50 to 54) or light level (if you’re 55 or older) if the vocational expert has testified that you cannot perform past work. This is because a “yes” answer from the vocational expert would still lead to a finding that you’re disabled under the Medical-Vocational Guidelines, also called the Grid Rules.

If you need helping applying for Social Security Disability or SSI, please contact me at joshben99@gmail.com. I have over 20 years experience with Social Security Disability cases.

Location: Michigan, USA

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