A misconception I often hear is that someone was considered “permanently” or “temporarily” disabled by the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA does not grant permanent or temporary disability per se, but instead, they make determinations as to whether someone is disabled, when they became disabled, and if they continue to be disabled as of the date of the decision.
Is Social Security Disability Temporary?
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are not always permanent programs for claimants. Often, if a claimant is a younger individual, SSA will pull their disability case for review every so often. This is called a Continuing Disability Review. Typically, SSA performs reviews every three years or every seven years. SSA may review your file more frequently if it believes you may have medical improvement.
When SSA pulls a case for review, they are looking to see if medical improvement has taken place. If medical improvement has happened since the claimant was considered “disabled” by the Agency, SSA then looks to see if the medical improvement is so great that the individual can return to work.
If the medical improvement is so great that the individual can return to work, SSA will terminate the benefits and state that the claimant is no longer disabled. However, if there was no medical improvement, SSA will continue the benefits until the next review period. SSA will also continue paying benefits if there was minimal medical improvement.
Can Social Security Disability Be Permanent?
While SSA does not often explicitly state disability benefits are permanent, it is possible to receive them until retirement age (at which time they convert to retirement benefits). In order to receive benefits from the onset date until retirement, there must be no significant medical improvement from the time you are initially found disabled until you retire.
Help with Social Security Claims
If you have an open disability case with SSA, but need assistance, contact a local attorney today. The local attorney will be able to walk you through the process and help you present your case to the SSA.