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REVISED DEFINITION OF DISABILITY

The next major change which occurred in the program was a liberalization of the definition of disability. The Social Security Amendments of 1965 deleted the requirement that the impairment be of "long-continued and indefinite duration" and substituted in its place a requirement that the impairment "be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." With these changes and an increasing public awareness of the disability insurance program, the size and complexity of the program grew significantly.

In 1967, faced with an actuarial deficiency in the Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Congress expressed concern that the definition of disability may have eroded over time, resulting in more allowances than had been anticipated. In response to this concern, legislation was proposed to provide a more precise definition of disability. In its report on the bill which would later be enacted as the Social Security Amendments of 1967, the Committee on Ways and Means stated:

"The committee's studies indicate that over the past few years the rising cost of the disability insurance program is related, along with other factors, to the way in which the definition of disability has been interpreted."

The House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees were particularly concerned about what they viewed as a,

". . . growing body of court interpretations of the statute which, if followed in the administration of the disability provisions, could result in substantial further increases in costs in the future."

The congressional committees took note of the following trends in the case law:

o First, an increasing tendency to put the burden of proof on the Secretary to identify jobs for which the claimant might have a reasonable opportunity to be hired, rather than ascertaining whether jobs exist in the economy which he can do.

o Second, a narrowing of the geographic area in which the jobs the claimant can do must exist.

o Third, the case of Leftwich v. Gardner. In Leftwich, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the claimant was under a disability, even though he was performing work at a level which was considered to be substantial gainful activity under the Secretary's regulations.

The committees explained that the amendments to the definition of disability were intended "to reemphasize the predominant importance of medical factors in the disability determination." The Social Security Amendments of 1967 added language to the definition to make it clear that a claimant may be found disabled, "only if his physical or mental impairment or impairments are of such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot, considering his age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy, regardless of whether such work exists in the immediate area in which he lives, or whether a specific job vacancy exists for him, or whether he would be hired if he applied for work." Also, under the amendments, the Secretary was given specific statutory authority to prescribe, by regulations, criteria for determining when services performed or when earnings from services demonstrate ability to engage in substantial gainful activity.

DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS

In addition to the clarifications made in the definition of disability, the 1967 Amendments provided for the payment of benefits to disabled widows and widowers age 50 or older. However, the test for disability for widows and widowers was more restrictive. It required a showing of inability to engage in "any gainful activity" based an medical evidence alone, without consideration of vocational factors.

THE 1972 AMENDMENTS (INTRODUCTION OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME PROGRAM; OTHER CHANGES)

Additional changes in the disability insurance program were made by the Social Security Amendments of 1972, including a reduction in the waiting period from 6 to 5 months, and an extension of the definition of disabled adult children to those disabled before age 22. However, the most significant aspect of the Social Security Amendments of 1972 was the creation of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled. The SSI program replaced the State program of public assistance to the aged, blind and disabled, effective January 1, 1974. Funded from general revenues, the program was intended to supplement the income of needy persons who had attained age 65 or were blind or disabled and who received no or only minimal benefits under the Social Security insurance program. Unlike the insurance program, eligibility for SSI payments is based on need, requiring an assessment of the person's income and resources.

Under the 1972 Amendments, the definition of disability used for disability insurance benefits was carried over into the SSI program, with a modification for SSI claimants under age 18. Other provisions applicable to the disability insurance program were incorporated into the SSI program as well, including provisions for a 9-month trial work period and for the suspension of payments for refusal to accept rehabilitation services. For purposes of making determinations of disability or blindness under the SSI program, the Secretary was authorized to use the structure that had been established with the States for determinations under the disability insurance program. Although it was anticipated that persons eligible an the basis of age would comprise the largest group of SSI recipients, experience proved otherwise. In almost every year since 1975, more than 60 percent of all SSI awards have been based on disability or blindness.