Knowledge Base
Disability Glossary
The disability world is full of acronyms. Here's what they actually mean.
A
AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings)
Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) is the figure the Social Security Administration uses to summarize your…
ALJ (Administrative Law Judge)
An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) is the federal official who presides over Social Security disability hearings after a…
Appeals Council
The Appeals Council is the final administrative review level inside the Social Security Administration. If an…
Auxiliary Benefits (Family Benefits)
Auxiliary benefits are monthly payments to eligible family members of a worker receiving SSDI. Qualifying dependents…
B
C
COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustment)
A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is the annual increase applied to Social Security and SSI benefits to keep pace with…
Compassionate Allowances (CAL)
Compassionate Allowances (CAL) is an SSA initiative that fast-tracks claims involving conditions so serious that they…
Concurrent Benefits (SSDI + SSI)
Concurrent benefits means receiving Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income at the same…
Consultative Examination (CE)
A consultative examination (CE) is a medical exam that SSA schedules and pays for when the evidence in your file is…
Continuing Disability Review (CDR)
A Continuing Disability Review (CDR) is SSA's periodic re-examination of whether you remain disabled after benefits are…
Countable Income
Countable income is the portion of your income that SSA actually uses to reduce an SSI payment after applying the…
D
Date Last Insured (DLI)
Your Date Last Insured (DLI) is the last date on which you still meet the work-credit requirements for Social Security…
DDS (Disability Determination Services)
Disability Determination Services (DDS) is the state agency that makes the medical decision on your claim at the…
Deeming
Deeming is the SSI rule that counts part of another person's income and resources as if they belonged to the claimant.…
M
Medicaid (SSI Link)
Medicaid is the joint federal and state health coverage program for people with limited income and resources, and for…
Medical Expert (ME)
A medical expert (ME) is an impartial physician or psychologist whom an Administrative Law Judge may call to testify at…
Medical-Vocational Grid Rules
The Medical-Vocational Guidelines, commonly called the grid rules, are tables SSA uses at step five to decide whether a…
Medicare Waiting Period
The Medicare waiting period is the 24-month span an SSDI beneficiary must generally wait before Medicare coverage…
O
Objective Medical Evidence
Objective medical evidence means signs and laboratory findings produced by medically acceptable techniques, such as…
OHO (Office of Hearings Operations)
The Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) is the branch of the Social Security Administration that manages the hearing…
On-the-Record (OTR) Decision
An on-the-record (OTR) decision is a fully favorable decision issued at the hearing level without holding a hearing,…
Onset Date (Alleged vs. Established)
The onset date is the date your disability began. The alleged onset date (AOD) is the date you claim in your…
P
R
Representative Payee
A representative payee is a person or organization SSA appoints to receive and manage benefits for a beneficiary who…
Resource Limit
The resource limit is the cap on countable assets an SSI recipient may own: $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a…
Retroactive Benefits
Retroactive benefits are SSDI payments for months before the date you filed your application. If the evidence shows…
RFC (Residual Functional Capacity)
Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) is SSA's assessment of the most you can still do in a work setting despite the…
S
T
TERI Case (Terminal Illness)
A TERI case is a claim flagged under SSA's terminal illness procedures for expedited handling. A claim receives the…
Ticket to Work
Ticket to Work is a free, voluntary SSA program that helps disability beneficiaries aged 18 to 64 return to the…
Treating Source
A treating source is a physician, psychologist, or other acceptable medical provider who has an ongoing treatment…
Trial Work Period (TWP)
The Trial Work Period (TWP) is a work incentive that lets SSDI beneficiaries test their ability to work without losing…