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A History Of The Social Security Disability Programs

Creator:  Social Security Administration Staff (authors)
Date: January 1986
Source: Social Security Online History Page

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THE DEFINITION OF DISABILITY

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As defined by the 1954 Amendments, disability meant, "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration."

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This definition was considered to be a conservative one. The congressional committees explained that:

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"The physical or mental impairment must be of a nature and degree of severity sufficient to justify its consideration as the cause of failure to obtain any substantial gainful work. Standards for evaluating the severity of disabling conditions will be worked out in consultation with the State agencies. They will reflect the requirement that the individual be disabled not only for his usual work, but also for any type of substantial gainful activity."

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DISABILITY INSURANCE BENEFITS

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Monthly disability insurance benefits were first established by the Social Security Amendments of 1956. Benefits were provided for disabled insured workers between the ages of 50 and 65 and for disabled children of retired or deceased insured workers if the child was disabled before age 18. The provisions for disability benefits were recommended by the Ways and Means Committee and appeared in H.R. 7225 as passed by the House in 1955.

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In its report on H.R. 7225, the Committee on Ways and Means stated as follows:

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"Your committee believes that retirement protection for the 70 million workers under old-age and survivors insurance is incomplete because it does not now provide a lower retirement age for those who are demonstrably retired by reason of a permanent and total disability. We recommend the closing of this serious gap in the old-age and survivors insurance system by providing for the payment of retirement benefits at age 50 to those regular workers who are forced into premature retirement because of disability."

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The Senate Committee on Finance, which held hearings on the bill in 1956, recognized the problems of disabled workers, but opposed the establishment of disability insurance benefits as part of the Social Security program. The Finance Committee did recommend a provision for childhood disability benefits. However, when the bill was finally considered by the full Senate in 1956, an amendment providing for disability benefits for insured workers was adopted on the floor by a 47 to 45 vote. The Amendment differed from the House version in that it established a separate Trust Fund for paying disability insurance benefits, which would be financed by additional payroll and self-employment taxes. The Senate version of the disability insurance program was adapted by the Conference Committee.

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Other provisions in the 1956 Amendments included: a 6-month waiting period for receipt of disability insurance benefits; a disability insured status requiring a recent and substantial attachment to the work force; a benefit offset when the worker receives another Federal disability benefit payment or State worker's compensation benefit; and a suspension of benefits for refusal, without good cause, to accept rehabilitation services available from the State rehabilitation agency. Determinations of disability for the cash benefits program would be made by State agencies under the framework established for the disability freeze. The definition of disability was the same as the definition established for the freeze, except that blindness was not presumed to be a disability as it had been with respect to the freeze.

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DISABILITY POLICY

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In an effort to develop uniform standards for evaluating disability as defined in the 1954 Amendments, the Commissioner of Social Security, in February 1955, appointed a Medical Advisory Committee to provide technical assistance in formulating disability policy. The panel recommended the issuance of evaluation guides and standards setting forth medical criteria for the evaluation of specific impairments with the level of severity prescribed for each. The panel also suggested that factors such as age, education, training and experience may be important in the evaluation of disability, even though the law did not specifically require consideration of these factors. In 1957, SSA published regulations outlining the factors to be considered in determining whether an individual's impairment precludes the performance of any substantial gainful activity. The regulations provided in part that,

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"In determining whether an individual's impairment makes him unable to engage in such activity, primary consideration is given to the severity of his impairment. Consideration is also given to such other factors as the individual's education, training, and work experience."

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DEPENDENTS' BENEFITS AND TRIAL WORK

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In 1957, and again in 1958, legislation was enacted making several technical amendments in the disability insurance program. In addition, the Social Security Amendments of 1958 expanded the program by including benefits for dependents of disabled workers. Further changes were made with the enactment of the Social Security Amendments of 1960. These amendments removed the minimum age requirement of 50 years for disability insurance beneficiaries. They also established a 9-month trial work period during which a disabled beneficiary could test his ability to work without suffering a loss of benefits.

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