Social Security update: Program makes big change in determining disability benefits

The Social Security Administration is dropping a list of 114 obsolete and obscure jobs, such as reptile farmer and railroad telegraphed, as possible employment options for individuals applying for disability benefits.

The list is used by the Security Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income programs to determine whether or not an applicant can find another job based upon their abilities. Based upon this list of jobs, an applicant can be denied benefits and be determined “not disabled” but instead prompted to find work in one of the professions listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

The Department of Labor dropped its reliance on the list several decades ago, but the SSA still relies on it to make its final decisions in a disability benefits application.

"While the agency's disability decision process remains sound, it continually seeks improvements to ensure its disability programs remain current and to ease the burden on customers," the SSA said in the release.

The SSA also cites that 13 occupations will now require additional justification to be cited as work options for a claimant.

“It makes sense to identify occupations that now exist in very limited numbers in the national economy," Martin O'Malley, commissioner of Social Security, told Newsweek. "By making this update, our decision-makers will no longer cite these jobs when denying a disability application."

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However, in total there are 3,127 unskilled jobs listed in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles as potential jobs for individuals to work, including many that aren’t sedentary.

The changes became effective on June 22, 2024.