Exceptions to the Five-Step Sequential Evaluation Process

Three Special Profiles

There are three other ways to be found disabled without completing the standard five-step sequential evaluation process. If you fit one of three special medical-vocational profiles, you are found disabled without proceeding to step five and without consulting the Medical-Vocational Guidelines.

Profile #1:

A claimant is disabled who:

  • Has a severe, medically determinable impairment;
  • Is age 55 or older;
  • Has an 11th grade education or less; and
  • Has no past relevant work experience.

Profile #2 (the “worn-out worker”):

A claimant is disabled who:

  • Has no more than a sixth grade education;
  • Worked 35 years at arduous unskilled labor; and
  • Is unable to do the arduous unskilled labor done in the past.

Profile #3:

A claimant is disabled who:

  • Is not working at SGA level.
  • Has a lifetime commitment (30 years or more) to a field of work that is unskilled, or is skilled or semi-skilled but with no transferable skills.
  • Can no longer perform this past work because of a severe impairment(s).
  • Is closely approaching retirement age (age 60 or older).
  • Has no more than a limited education.

Disabled But Not Eligible

There are two ways to be found not disabled even though the sequential Social Security disability evaluation process has been completed and SSA has concluded that you are, in fact, disabled. You will not be found disabled if:

  • Without good reason, you do not follow prescribed treatment. A determination finding a claimant not disabled on this basis is made only after SSA finds that you are otherwise disabled. The treatment must be prescribed by the your own physician and this treatment must be “clearly expected to restore” your ability to work.
  • Drug addiction or alcoholism is “a contributing factor material to the determination of disability.” This issue is addressed only after it is determined that you are disabled when considering all impairments, including any impairments involving drug addiction or alcoholism. Then SSA looks at your impairments again to consider whether you would still be disabled if you stopped using drugs or alcohol.