20 CFR 404.1545 - Your residual functional capacity.
(a)General -
(1)Residual functional capacity assessment. Your impairment(s), and any related symptoms, such as pain, may cause physical and mental limitations that affect what you can do in a work setting. Your residual functional capacity is the most you can still do despite your limitations. We will assess your residual functional capacity based on all the relevant evidence in your case record. (See §§ 404.1512(d) through (e).)
(2)If you have more than one impairment. We will consider all of your medically determinable impairments of which we are aware, including your medically determinable impairments that are not “severe,” as explained in §§ 404.1520(c), 404.1521, and 404.1523, when we assess your residual functional capacity. (See paragraph (e) of this section.)
(3)Evidence we use to assess your residual functional capacity. We will assess your residual functional capacity based on all of the relevant medical and other evidence. In general, you are responsible for providing the evidence we will use to make a finding about your residual functional capacity. (See § 404.1512(c).) However, before we make a determination that you are not disabled, we are responsible for developing your complete medical history, including arranging for a consultative examination(s) if necessary, and making every reasonable effort to help you get medical reports from your own medical sources. (See §§ 404.1512(d) through (f).) We will consider any statements about what you can still do that have been provided by medical sources, whether or not they are based on formal medical examinations. (See § 404.1513.) We will also consider descriptions and observations of your limitations from your impairment(s), including limitations that result from your symptoms, such as pain, provided by you, your family, neighbors, friends, or other persons. (See paragraph (e) of this section and § 404.1529.)
(4)What we will consider in assessing residual functional capacity. When we assess your residual functional capacity, we will consider your ability to meet the physical, mental, sensory, and other requirements of work, as described in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section.
(5)How we will use our residual functional capacity assessment.
(i) We will first use our residual functional capacity assessment at step four of the sequential evaluation process to decide if you can do your past relevant work. (See §§ 404.1520(f) and 404.1560(b).)
(ii) If we find that you cannot do your past relevant work, you do not have any past relevant work, or if we use the procedures in § 404.1520(h) and § 404.1562 does not apply, we will use the same assessment of your residual functional capacity at step five of the sequential evaluation process to decide if you can adjust to any other work that exists in the national economy. (See §§ 404.1520(g) and 404.1566.) At this step, we will not use our assessment of your residual functional capacity alone to decide if you are disabled. We will use the guidelines in §§ 404.1560 through 404.1569a, and consider our residual functional capacity assessment together with the information about your vocational background to make our disability determination or decision. For our rules on residual functional capacity assessment in deciding whether your disability continues or ends, see § 404.1594.
(b)Physical abilities. When we assess your physical abilities, we first assess the nature and extent of your physical limitations and then determine your residual functional capacity for work activity on a regular and continuing basis. A limited ability to perform certain physical demands of work activity, such as sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or other physical functions (including manipulative or postural functions, such as reaching, handling, stooping or crouching), may reduce your ability to do past work and other work.
(c)Mental abilities. When we assess your mental abilities, we first assess the nature and extent of your mental limitations and restrictions and then determine your residual functional capacity for work activity on a regular and continuing basis. A limited ability to carry out certain mental activities, such as limitations in understanding, remembering, and carrying out instructions, and in responding appropriately to supervision, co-workers, and work pressures in a work setting, may reduce your ability to do past work and other work.
(d)Other abilities affected by impairment(s). Some medically determinable impairment(s), such as skin impairment(s), epilepsy, impairment(s) of vision, hearing or other senses, and impairment(s) which impose environmental restrictions, may cause limitations and restrictions which affect other work-related abilities. If you have this type of impairment(s), we consider any resulting limitations and restrictions which may reduce your ability to do past work and other work in deciding your residual functional capacity.
(e)Total limiting effects. When you have a severe impairment(s), but your symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings do not meet or equal those of a listed impairment in appendix 1 of this subpart, we will consider the limiting effects of all your impairment(s), even those that are not severe, in determining your residual functional capacity. Pain or other symptoms may cause a limitation of function beyond that which can be determined on the basis of the anatomical, physiological or psychological abnormalities considered alone; e.g., someone with a low back disorder may be fully capable of the physical demands consistent with those of sustained medium work activity, but another person with the same disorder, because of pain, may not be capable of more than the physical demands consistent with those of light work activity on a sustained basis. In assessing the total limiting effects of your impairment(s) and any related symptoms, we will consider all of the medical and nonmedical evidence, including the information described in § 404.1529(c).
Title 20 published on 20-Dec-2017 04:12
The following are ALL rules, proposed rules, and notices (chronologically) published in the Federal Register relating to 20 CFR Part 404 after this date.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2017-27086 RIN 0960-AI17 Docket No. SSA-2017-0055 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective on December 15, 2017. 20 CFR Part 404 We are extending the expiration dates of the following body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) in our regulations: Musculoskeletal System, Cardiovascular System, Digestive System, and Skin Disorders. We are making no other revisions to these body systems in this final rule. This extension ensures that we will continue to have the criteria we need to evaluate impairments in the affected body systems at step three of the sequential evaluation processes for initial claims and continuing disability reviews.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2017-17724 RIN 0960-AF35 Docket No. SSA-2006-0140 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Correcting amendment. This rule is effective August 22, 2017. 20 CFR Part 404 We published final rules in the Federal Register on July 1, 2016, that revised the Listing of Impairments (Listings) for the neurological body system. That document inadvertently omitted a reference. This document amends and corrects the final rule.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2017-15493 RIN 0960-AI06 Docket No. SSA-2017-0021 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective July 25, 2017. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending for six months our rule authorizing attorney advisors to conduct certain prehearing proceedings and to issue fully favorable decisions. The current rule is scheduled to expire on August 4, 2017. In this final rule, we are extending the sunset date to February 5, 2018. We are making no other substantive changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2017-06023 RIN 0960-AH51 Docket No. SSA-2012-0035 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules; correction. Effective March 27, 2017. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We published a document in the Federal Register on January 18, 2017, that revises our rules. That document inadvertently contained technical errors. This document amends and corrects the final rules.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2017-00076 RIN 0960-AH66 Docket No. SSA-2014-0016 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules; correction. The corrections are effective April 17, 2017. 20 CFR Part 404 We published a document in the Federal Register revising our rules on October 17, 2016. That document inadvertently omitted a corresponding technical change to § 404.1592f(a) when § 404.1592c(a) was amended with the final rule publication. By making this technical correction we will also need to redesignate the amendatory instructions to incorporate the missing section changes to § 404.1592f(a). This document corrects the final regulation by making these technical corrections.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2017-00455 RIN 0960-AH51 Docket No. SSA-2012-0035 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These final rules are effective on March 27, 2017. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are revising our medical evidence rules. The revisions include redefining several key terms related to evidence, revising our rules about acceptable medical sources (AMS), revising how we consider and articulate our consideration of medical opinions and prior administrative medical findings, revising our rules about medical consultants (MC) and psychological consultants (PC), revising our rules about treating sources, and reorganizing our evidence regulations for ease of use. These revisions conform our rules to the requirements of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), reflect changes in the national healthcare workforce and in the manner that individuals receive medical care, and emphasize the need for objective medical evidence in disability and blindness claims. We expect that these changes will simplify our rules to make them easier to understand and apply, and allow us to continue to make accurate and consistent disability determinations and decisions.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-30103 RIN 0960-AH71 Docket No. SSA-2014-0052 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule will be effective on January 17, 2017. However, compliance is not required until May 1, 2017. 20 CFR Parts 404, 405 and 416 We are revising our rules so that more of our procedures at the hearing and Appeals Council levels of our administrative review process are consistent nationwide. We anticipate that these nationally consistent procedures will enable us to administer our disability programs more efficiently and better serve the public.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-28843 RIN 0960-AG71 Docket No. SSA-2007-0082 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. These rules are effective January 17, 2017. 20 CFR Part 404 We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). We also are revising the introductory text of the listings that we use to evaluate functional limitations resulting from immune system disorders. The revisions reflect our program experience, advances in medical knowledge, our adjudicative experience, recommendations from a commissioned report, and comments from medical experts and the public.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-28845 RIN 0960-AF69 Docket No. SSA-2007-0101 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules; correction. These rules are effective January 17, 2017. 20 CFR Part 404 We published a document in the Federal Register revising our rules on September 26, 2016. That document inadvertently included incorrect amendatory instructions to appendix 1 to subpart P of 20 CFR part 404, removing section 114.00I and redesignating section 114.00J as section 114.00I. This document corrects the final regulation by removing that amendatory instruction.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-25565 RIN 0960-AH94 Docket No. SSA-2016-0014 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective October 24, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending, until December 28, 2018, the expiration date of our disability examiner authority (DEA) rule, which authorizes State agency disability examiners to make fully favorable determinations without the approval of a State agency medical or psychological consultant in claims that we consider under our quick disability determination (QDD) and compassionate allowance (CAL) processes. This is our last extension of this rule because we will phase out the use of DEA during the extension period under section 832 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA). This extension provides us the time necessary to take all of the administrative actions we need to take in order to reinstate uniform use of medical and psychological consultants. The current rule will expire on November 11, 2016. In this final rule, we are changing the November 11, 2016 expiration or “sunset” date to December 28, 2018, extending the authority for 2 years and 1 month. This is the final extension of our DEA rule. On December 28, 2018, at the conclusion of this extension, the authority for this test will terminate. We are making no other changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-24873 RIN 0960-AH66 Docket No. SSA-2014-0016 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These final rules will be effective November 16, 2016, except for the amendments to §§ 404.1592c and 416.999a, which will be effective April 17, 2017. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 These rules finalize the rules we proposed in our notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on May 11, 2016. In these rules, we remove some of the requirements for evaluation of an unsuccessful work attempt (UWA) that lasts between 3 and 6 months, allow previously entitled beneficiaries to apply for expedited reinstatement (EXR) in the same month they stop performing substantial gainful activity (SGA), and provide that provisional benefits will begin the month after the request for EXR if the beneficiary stops performing SGA in the month of the EXR request. These changes will simplify our policies and make them easier for the public to understand.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-22908 RIN 0960-AF69 Docket No. SSA-2007-0101 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These rules are effective January 17, 2017. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving mental disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). The revisions reflect our program experience, advances in medical knowledge, recommendations from a commissioned report, and public comments we received in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-22909 RIN 0960-AH92 Docket No. SSA-2016-0015 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These final rules will be effective on November 2, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 In accordance with section 812 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA section 812), these rules explain how we will address evidence furnished by medical sources that meet one of BBA section 812's exclusionary categories (excluded medical sources of evidence) as described below. Under these new rules, we will not consider evidence furnished by an excluded medical source of evidence unless we find good cause to do so. We identify five circumstances in which we may find good cause. In these rules, we also require excluded medical sources of evidence to notify us of their excluded status under section 223(d)(5)(C)(i) of the Social Security Act (Act), as amended, in writing each time they furnish evidence to us that relates to a claim for initial or continuing benefits under titles II or XVI of the Act. These rules will allow us to fulfill obligations that we have under BBA section 812.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. C1-2016-13275 RIN 0960-AF58 Docket No. SSA-2006-0149 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-21358 RIN 0960-AH51 Docket No. SSA-2012-0035 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). To ensure that we consider your comments, we must receive them by no later than November 8, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are proposing several revisions to our medical evidence rules. The proposals include redefining several key terms related to evidence, revising our list of acceptable medical sources (AMS), revising how we consider and articulate our consideration of medical opinions and prior administrative medical findings, revising who can be a medical consultant (MC) and psychological consultant (PC), revising our rules about treating sources, and reorganizing our evidence regulations for ease of use. These proposed revisions would conform our rules with the requirements of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), reflect changes in the national healthcare workforce and in the manner that individuals receive primary medical care, simplify and reorganize our rules to make them easier to understand and apply, allow us to continue to make accurate and consistent decisions, and emphasize the need for objective medical evidence in disability and blindness claims.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-19384 RIN 0960-AH63 Docket No. SSA-2013-0044 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of proposed rulemaking. To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive them no later than October 17, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We propose to revise our rules of conduct and standards of responsibility for representatives. We also propose to update and clarify procedures we use when we bring charges against a representative for violating our rules of conduct and standards of responsibilities for representatives. These changes are necessary to better protect the integrity of our administrative process and further clarify representatives' currently existing responsibilities in their conduct with us. The changes to our rules are not meant to suggest that any specific conduct is permissible under our existing rules; instead, we seek to ensure that our rules of conduct and standards of responsibility are clearer as a whole and directly address a broader range of inappropriate conduct.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-18367 RIN 0960-AH71 Docket No. SSA-2014-0052 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); reopening of the comment period. The comment period for the NPRM published on July 12, 2016 (81 FR 45079), is extended by 15 days and thus will end on August 26, 2016. 20 CFR Part 404 On July 12, 2016, we published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for Ensuring Program Uniformity at the Hearing and Appeals Council Levels of the Administrative Review Process. We provided a 30-day comment period ending on August 11, 2016. We are extending the comment period for 15 days.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-18051 RIN 0960-AI03 Docket No. SSA-2016-0023 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective on August 3, 2016. 20 CFR Part 404 We are extending the expiration dates of the following body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) in our regulations: Musculoskeletal System, Cardiovascular System, Digestive System, and Skin Disorders. We are making no other revisions to these body systems in this final rule. This extension ensures that we will continue to have the criteria we need to evaluate impairments in the affected body systems at step three of the sequential evaluation processes for initial claims and continuing disability reviews.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-16265 RIN 0960-AH71 Docket No. SSA-2014-0052 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive them no later than August 11, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404, 405 and 416 We propose to revise our rules so that more of our procedures at the administrative law judge (ALJ) and Appeals Council levels of our administrative review process are consistent nationwide. We anticipate that these nationally consistent procedures will enable us to administer our disability programs more efficiently and better serve the public.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-15306 RIN 0960-AF35 Docket No. SSA-2006-0140 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This rule is effective September 29, 2016. 20 CFR Part 404 We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate disability claims involving neurological disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). These revisions reflect our program experience; advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating neurological disorders; comments we received from medical experts and the public at an outreach policy conference; responses to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM); and public comments we received in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and a Federal Register notice that reopened the NPRM comment period.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-14974 RIN 0960-AI02 Docket No. SSA-2016-0019 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective June 24, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending for one year our pilot program that authorizes the agency to set the time and place for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Extending the pilot program continues our commitment to improve the efficiency of our hearing process and to maintain a hearing process that results in accurate, high-quality decisions for claimants. The current pilot program will expire on August 12, 2016. In this final rule, we are extending the effective date to August 11, 2017. We are making no other changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-13744 RIN 0960-AH92 Docket No. SSA-2016-0015 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). To ensure that we consider your comments, we must receive them by no later than August 9, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 In accordance with section 812 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA section 812), we propose to revise our rules to explain how we would address evidence furnished by medical sources that meet one of BBA section 812's exclusionary categories (statutorily excluded medical sources). Under this proposed rule, we would not consider evidence furnished by a statutorily excluded medical source unless we find good cause to do so. We propose several circumstances in which we would find good cause, and we also propose to require statutorily excluded medical sources to notify us of their excluded status when they furnish evidence to us. These rules would allow us to fulfill obligations that we have under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA).
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-13275 RIN 0960-AF58 Docket No. SSA-2006-0149 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. These final rules are effective October 7, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving respiratory disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). The revisions reflect our program experience and advances in medical knowledge since we last comprehensively revised this body system in 1993, as well as comments we received from medical experts and the public.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-12182 RIN 0960-AI00 Docket No. SSA-2016-0016 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective on May 24, 2016. 20 CFR Part 404 We are extending the expiration dates of the following body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) in our regulations: Endocrine Disorders and Immune System Disorders. We are making no other revisions to these body systems in this final rule. This extension ensures that we will continue to have the criteria we need to evaluate impairments in the affected body systems at step three of the sequential evaluation processes for initial claims and continuing disability reviews.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-10932 RIN 0960-AH66 Docket No. SSA-2014-0016 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of proposed rulemaking. To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive them no later than July 11, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404, 411, and 416 We propose to remove some of the requirements for evaluation of an unsuccessful work attempt (UWA) that lasts between 3 and 6 months. We also propose to allow previously entitled beneficiaries to apply for expedited reinstatement (EXR) in the same month they stop performing substantial gainful activity (SGA). Provisional benefits will begin the month after the request for EXR if the beneficiary stops performing SGA in the month of the EXR request. These changes would simplify our policies and make them easier for the public to understand.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-07602 RIN 0960-AH85 Docket No. SSA-2015-0018 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective April 4, 2016. 20 CFR Part 404 This final rule adopts, with one additional change, the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that we published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2016. This final rule revises our rules by incorporating changes made by the ABLE Act to section 224(a) of the Social Security Act (Act). Under this final rule, the age at which disability insurance benefits (DIB) are no longer subject to reduction (offset) based on receipt of workers' compensation or public disability benefits (WC/PDB) changes from age 65 to the day the individual attains full retirement age.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2016-02267 RIN 0960-AH64 Docket No. SSA-2013-0061 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. Effective Date: This final rule is effective February 5, 2016. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 This final rule adopts the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that we published in the Federal Register on October 21, 2015. This final rule revises our rules regarding returning evidence at the Appeals Council (AC) level. Under this final rule, the AC will no longer return additional evidence it receives when the AC determines the additional evidence does not relate to the period on or before the date of the administrative law judge (ALJ) decision.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-33036 RIN 0960-AH85 Docket No. SSA-2015-0018 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). To ensure that we consider your comments, we must receive them by no later than February 3, 2016. 20 CFR Part 404 We propose to amend our regulations to incorporate changes made by the ABLE Act to section 224(a) of the Social Security Act. The ABLE Act amends section 224(a) by changing the age at which disability insurance benefits (DIB) are no longer subject to reduction (offset) based on receipt of workers' compensation or public disability benefits (WC/PDB), from age 65 to the day the individual attains full retirement age. This change will make our rules consistent with the provisions of the Act, as amended by the ABLE Act.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-27692 RIN 0960-AH74 Docket No. SSA-2014-0081 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of the comment period. The comment period for the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking published on September 14, 2015 (80 FR 55050), is extended. To ensure that your written comments are considered, we must receive them on or before December 14, 2015. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 On September 14, 2015, we published in the Federal Register an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding Vocational Factors of Age, Education, and Work Experience in the Adult Disability Determination Process and solicited public comments. We provided a 60-day comment period ending on November 13, 2015. We are extending the comment period to December 14, 2015. Our extension of the comment date accommodates and facilitates public comments we expect in response to the National Disability Forum we are sponsoring on Friday, November 20, 2015. During the forum, we are hosting a moderator-led discussion entitled: The Realities of Work for Individuals with Disabilities: Impact of Age, Education, and Work Experience (for information on the forum see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section).
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-26747 RIN 0960-AH64 Docket No. SSA-2013-0061 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). To ensure that we consider your comments, we must receive them by no later than November 20, 2015. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We propose to amend our regulations by revising our rules regarding the return of evidence at the Appeals Council (AC) level. Our current rules state that the AC will return to the claimant additional evidence it receives when the AC finds the evidence does not relate to the period on or before the date of the administrative law judge's (ALJ) hearing decision. We are proposing these revisions to give the AC discretion in returning additional evidence that it receives when the AC determines the additional evidence does not relate to the period on or before the date of the ALJ decision.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-26488 RIN 0960-AH77 Docket No. SSA-2015-0011 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective October 19, 2015. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending the expiration date of our rule that authorizes State agency disability examiners to make fully favorable determinations without the approval of a State agency medical or psychological consultant in claims that we consider under our quick disability determination (QDD) and compassionate allowance (CAL) processes. The current rule will expire on November 13, 2015. In this final rule, we are changing the November 13, 2015 expiration or “sunset” date to November 11, 2016, extending the authority for 1 year. We are making no other substantive changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-22839 RIN 0960-AH74 Docket No. SSA-2014-0081 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Advance notice of proposed rulemaking. To be sure that we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than November 13, 2015. 20 CFR Part 404 and 416 We are soliciting public input about how we should consider the vocational factors of age, education, and work experience in adult disability claims under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). There have been significant changes in technology use and workforce demographics since we first adopted our vocational factor regulations in 1978. We are requesting public comments, along with any supporting data, to assist in our efforts to streamline, simplify, and ensure the ongoing relevance of our disability determination programs.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-19825 RIN 0960-AG28 Docket No. SSA-2011-0081 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule; Correcting amendments. Effective August 12, 2015. 20 CFR Part 404 We published a document in the Federal Register revising our rules on April 13, 2015. That document inadvertently included incorrect values in table II of listing 105.08(B)(1)(c) of appendix 1 to subpart P of 20 CFR part 404. This document corrects the final regulation by revising this table.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-16397 RIN 0960-AH75 Docket No. SSA-2015-0010 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective July 2, 2015. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending for one year our pilot program that authorizes the agency to set the time and place for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Extending of the pilot program continues our commitment to improve the efficiency of our hearing process and to maintain a hearing process that results in accurate, high-quality decisions for claimants. The current pilot program will expire on August 10, 2015. In this final rule, we are extending the effective date to August 12, 2016. We are making no other substantive changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-14509 RIN 0960-AG50 Docket No. SSA 2007-0040 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective on July 15, 2015. 20 CFR Part 404 This final rule adopts, with clarifying changes, the proposed rule we previously published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2007. This final rule revises our Government Pension Offset (GPO) regulations to reflect changes to the Social Security Act (“Act”) made by section 9007 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA 1987) and section 418 of the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (SSPA). These regulations explain how and when we will reduce the Social Security spouse's benefit for some people who receive Federal, State, or local government pensions if Social Security did not cover their government work.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-13768 RIN 0960-AH83 Docket No. SSA-2015-0017 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective June 5, 2015. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending for 2 years our rule authorizing attorney advisors to conduct certain prehearing procedures and to issue fully favorable decisions. The current rule will expire on August 7, 2015. In this final rule, we are extending the sunset date to August 4, 2017. We are making no other substantive changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-11923 RIN 0960-AH43 Docket No. SSA-2011-0098 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This rule is effective July 20, 2015. 20 CFR Part 404 We are revising the criteria in parts A and B of the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving cancer (malignant neoplastic diseases) under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). These revisions reflect our adjudicative experience, advances in medical knowledge, recommendations from medical experts we consulted, and public comments we received in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-08849 RIN 0960-AF88 Docket No. SSA-2010-0055 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These rules are effective May 18, 2015. 20 CFR Part 404 We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate cases involving hematological disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). These revisions reflect our adjudicative experience, advances in medical knowledge, diagnosis, and treatment, and public comments we received in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-08185 RIN 0960-AG28 Docket No. SSA-2011-0081 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 Final rule. This rule is effective June 12, 2015. 20 CFR Part 404 This rule adopts, with one change, the rule for evaluating growth disorders in children we proposed in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on May 22, 2013. Several body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) contain listings for children based on impairment of linear growth or weight loss. We are replacing those listings with new listings for low birth weight (LBW) and failure to thrive; a new listing for genitourinary impairments; and revised listings for growth failure in combination with a respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, or immune system disorder. These revisions reflect our program experience, advances in medical knowledge, and comments we received from medical experts and the public.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2015-05921 RIN 0960-AH53 Docket No. SSA-2012-0068 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This rule is effective April 20, 2015. 20 CFR Parts 404, 405, and 416 We are clarifying our regulations to require you to inform us about or submit all evidence known to you that relates to your disability claim, subject to two exceptions for certain privileged communications. This requirement includes the duty to submit all evidence that relates to your disability claim received from any source in its entirety, unless you previously submitted the same evidence to us or we instruct you otherwise. We are also requiring your representative to help you obtain the information or evidence that we require you to submit under our regulations. These modifications to our regulations will better describe your duty to submit all evidence that relates to your disability claim and enable us to have more complete case records on which to make more accurate disability determinations and decisions.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-30921 RIN 0960-AH21 Docket No. SSA-2010-0025 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These rules are effective February 5, 2015. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are adopting, with two revisions, our interim final rules that implemented amendments to the Social Security Act (Act) made by the Social Security Disability Applicants' Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010 (PRA). The interim final rules made permanent the direct fee payment rules for eligible non-attorney representatives under titles II and XVI of the Act and for attorney representatives under title XVI of the Act. They also revised some of our eligibility policies for non-attorney representatives under titles II and XVI of the Act. Based on public comment and subsequent inquiries, we are revising our rules to clarify that an eligible non-attorney representative's liability insurance policy must include malpractice coverage. We are also reaffirming that a business entity legally permitted to provide the required insurance in the States in which the non-attorney representative conducts business must underwrite the policies.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-30739 RIN 0960-AH72 Docket No. SSA-2014-0068 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective on January 2, 2015. 20 CFR Part 404 We are extending the expiration dates of the following body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) in our regulations: Growth Impairment, Musculoskeletal System, Respiratory System, Cardiovascular System, Digestive System, Hematological Disorders, Skin Disorders, Neurological, and Mental Disorders. We are making no other revisions to these body systems in this final rule. This extension will ensure that we continue to have the criteria we need to evaluate impairments in the affected body systems at step three of the sequential evaluation processes for initial claims and continuing disability reviews.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-26745 RIN 096-AH03 Docket No. SSA-2009-0038 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule; correction. Effective December 9, 2014. 20 CFR Part 404 This document corrects a misspelling in the regulatory language of our final rulemaking published in the Federal Register on Friday, October 10, 2014, titled Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Genitourinary Disorders.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-24114 RIN 0960-AH03 Docket No. SSA-2009-0038 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These rules are effective December 9, 2014. 20 CFR Part 404 These final rules revise the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate cases involving genitourinary disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). The revisions reflect our program experience and address adjudicator questions we have received since we last comprehensively revised this body system in 2005.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-20535 RIN 0960-AH69 Docket No. SSA-2014-0045 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective August 28, 2014. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending the expiration date of our rule that authorizes State agency disability examiners to make fully favorable determinations without the approval of a State agency medical or psychological consultant in claims that we consider under our quick disability determination (QDD) and compassionate allowance (CAL) processes. The current rule will expire on November 14, 2014. In this final rule, we are changing the November 14, 2014 expiration or “sunset” date to November 13, 2015, extending the authority for 1 year. We are making no other substantive changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-16782 RIN 0960-AH67 Docket No. SSA-2014-0034 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule. This final rule is effective July 18, 2014. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are extending for one year our pilot program that authorizes the agency to set the time and place for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Extending the pilot program continues our commitment to improve the efficiency of our hearing process and provide accurate, high-quality decisions for claimants. The current pilot program will expire on August 9, 2014. In this final rule, we are extending the expiration date to August 10, 2015. We are making no other substantive changes.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-14793 RIN 0960-AH37 Docket No. 2011-0056 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rules. These final rules are effective July 25, 2014. 20 CFR Parts 404, 405, and 416 These final rules explain how a claimant may object to appearing at a hearing via video teleconferencing, or to the time and place of a hearing. These final rules adopt, with further clarification regarding our good cause exception, the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that we published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2013. We expect that these final rules will have a minimal impact on the public, help ensure the integrity of our programs, and allow us to administer our programs more efficiently.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-13802 RIN 0960-AH44 Docket No. SSA-2011-0099 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Interim final rules with request for comments. Effective Date: This interim final rule is effective June 12, 2014. Comment Date: To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive them no later than August 11, 2014. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are amending our regulations to state that we will obtain evidence from any appropriate source. Our current regulations provide that we will obtain information from “special arrangement sources” for those infrequent situations when we are in a better position than our State agency partners to obtain evidence. Due to improved evidence collection through our increased use of health information technology (health IT), we are obtaining evidence electronically with increasing frequency. We expect that, over time, the electronic exchange of medical records will become our primary means for obtaining medical evidence. As we increase our use of health IT, the designation of “special arrangement sources” will no longer adequately describe from whom we collect evidence.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-13803 RIN 0960-AH55 Docket No. SSA-2013-0005 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Final rule; technical corrections. This rule is effective June 12, 2014. 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 We are making technical corrections to several of our regulations. In some cases, we are correcting outdated cross-references in light of revisions we made to other rules. We are also revising the maximum dollar amount of overpayments subject to compromise based on other changes in the law, and we are adjusting the formula we use to calculate the maximum benefits payable in the first and second installment payments of large past-due benefits for the same reason. In addition, we are updating references to the coverage status of affected non-temporary employees of the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These changes do not alter the substance of the regulations or effect the rights of claimants or any other parties. We expect that the changes will make our rules more internally consistent and make them easier to use.
GPO FDSys XML | Text type regulations.gov FR Doc. 2014-09951 RIN 0960-AF35 Docket No. SSA-2006-0140 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Proposed rule; reopening of the comment period. The comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking published on February 25, 2014 (79 FR 10636), is reopened. To ensure that your written comments are considered, we must receive them no later than June 2, 2014. 20 CFR Part 404 On February 25, 2014, we published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Neurological Disorders and solicited public comments. We provided a 60-day comment period ending on April 28, 2014. We are reopening the comment period for 30 days.
Pages
- 20 CFR 404.1529 — How We Evaluate Symptoms, Including Pain.
- 20 CFR 404.1594 — How We Will Determine Whether Your Disability Continues or Ends.
- 20 CFR 404.1520 — Evaluation of Disability in General.
- 20 CFR 404.1527 — Evaluating Opinion Evidence for Claims Filed Before March 27, 2017.
- 20 CFR 404.1501 — Scope of Subpart.
- 20 CFR 404.328 — When Your Completion of the Program, or Your Continuation in the Program for a Specified Period of Time, Will Increase the Likelihood That You Will Not Have to Return to the Disability Benefit Rolls.
- 20 CFR 404.1520b — How We Consider Evidence.