If you are over age of 55 with orthopedic/musculoskeletal issues, there is a very good chance you fit the profile that will result in an approval by Social Security disability.

As you may know, Social Security defines “disability” in terms of how your medical problem prevents you from engaging in “substantial gainful activity” or SGA. SGA can mean any activity roughly equal to a 30+ hour per week minimum wage job. The SGA table published by SSA says that in 2026, SGA is assumed if you are earnings $1,690 per month gross (this is equal to just over $20,000 per year).

So if you have the capacity to reliably perform a simple, entry level job like packing ink pens in a box or monitoring a conveyor belt, you could perform SGA and are not disabled. It does not matter to SSA what you did before – if you were a neurosurgeon or nuclear physicist earning $1 million per year, you are not disabled if you could pack ink pens in a box.

If you are under the age of 50, you have to prove to SSA that you do not have the capacity to perform any job that exists in the United States. Not impossible, but very difficult.

However…

When you turn age 50 and even more so at age 55 the rules change dramatically in your favor. Continue reading →