Can You Get Social Security Disability Benefits for Anxiety?
People with anxiety disorders often experience debilitating symptoms of fear, panic, and cognitive dysfunction that significantly impact their daily lives. The condition often impairs their ability to work and earn a substantial wage.
- Individuals with severe anxiety may qualify for SSDI benefits if their symptoms significantly impact their daily functioning and ability to work.
- To receive SSDI benefits for anxiety, applicants must demonstrate medical evidence showing persistent symptoms that interfere with basic work-related activities.
- A detailed medical history, including treatment plans and physician documentation, is essential to support an SSDI claim for anxiety.
- SSDI eligibility for anxiety depends on how the condition affects an individual’s productivity, reliability, and overall capacity to maintain employment.
If you’re unable to work due to the severity of your anxiety, you may be eligible for Social Security disability benefits, or SSDI. However, as with other mental conditions, it can be difficult to prove to the Social Security Administration that your anxiety prevents you from working. Disability Advice can connect you with a knowledgeable disability lawyer who can help maximize your chances of approval for SSDI on your first application.
Does the Social Security Administration Consider Anxiety a Disability?
Anxiety can be considered a disabling condition that qualifies for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. However, proving your anxiety is severe enough to qualify for benefits can be difficult. Most people with anxiety can manage their symptoms to a degree that does not affect their ability to work. For your anxiety to be considered a disability, it must be a serious and persistent condition that significantly impacts your daily functioning and ability to hold a job.
The SSA recognizes several types of anxiety disorders as affecting the ability to work. These include the following:
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Certain severe phobias, such as agoraphobia
Qualifying for SSDI With Anxiety
For you to qualify for SSDI with anxiety, you must demonstrate to the SSA that you aren’t capable of performing “substantial gainful activity” due to your condition. The monthly threshold for substantial gainful activity is $1,550 in 2024.
You must also have accrued sufficient work credits by paying payroll taxes into the system over your lifetime. The amount of credits needed depends on your age.
The SSA will consider the severity of your disability, working capacity, current earnings, whether your condition meets the criteria listed in the SSA’s Blue Book, and whether you can still perform any type of work.
Anxiety Eligibility Criteria
The criteria the SSA uses to determine eligibility for SSDI based on an anxiety diagnosis is based on a combination of three factors.
First, the applicant must provide medical documentation of anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. These conditions’ symptoms must meet the criteria listed in the SSA’s Blue Book listing of impairments.
In addition, the applicant must demonstrate either of the following:
- They experience “extreme limitation” of one or “marked limitation” of two areas of mental functioning, including memory, concentration, social interaction, and adaptation, OR
- Their anxiety disorder is “serious and persistent,” documented for at least two years with evidence both of medical treatment for the disorder and little to no improvement resulting from treatment.
Mental Residual Functional Capacity Assessment for Anxiety
When you apply for disability benefits based on a mental health condition, the SSA requires that you submit a Mental Residual Functional Capacity Assessment, or RFC, evaluating your work limitations. A doctor or other medical professional must complete the RFC form. They will assess your memory, concentration, adaptation, and social interaction skills to determine whether you can perform any work activities and at what level.
Medical-Vocational Allowance for Anxiety
Generally, a condition must meet the criteria under the impairment listing in the Blue Book. However, many SSDI beneficiaries do not meet the listed standards for a specific disability. Instead, they receive benefits under a medical-vocational allowance based on their functional limitations or how their condition limits their ability to perform daily tasks.
Eligibility for medical-vocational allowance is primarily based on an RFC assessment. The SSA uses the assessment to determine whether you can do your old job or, if not, whether you can do any other job in the national economy. If you can’t return to your previous work or work at a different job, you might qualify for a medical-vocational allowance.
How Much Does SSDI Pay?
Your SSDI payments are based on your average past earnings. If you have worked for 35 years or more, the SSA will calculate this average based on the 35 highest-earning years of your career. If you’ve worked for fewer than 35 years, the SSA will take the average from your lifetime work history. The SSA will then adjust this number for inflation to determine your average indexed monthly earnings, or AIME.
The SSA uses your AIME to calculate the full amount of your retirement benefit, known as your primary insurance amount, or PIA. Your PIA is rounded down to the nearest dollar to determine your monthly SSDI benefit payout.
The maximum monthly SSDI payment you could earn under 2024 regulations is $3,822. However, most people receive much lower amounts. The average monthly SSDI benefit in 2024 is $1,537. You can estimate the monthly benefits you may be eligible for using our SSDI benefits calculator.
Can I Work and Still Receive SSDI?
Yes, you can still work while receiving SSDI benefits. However, your monthly earnings must fall below the SSDI substantial gainful activity limit. In 2024, this means that you must be earning less than $1,550 per month. If you are blind, this limit increases to $2,590.
If you earn over $1,110 monthly in 2024, your earnings will count as a “service month” toward an SSA program known as a Trial Work Period, or TWP. The TWP is intended to incentivize SSDI beneficiaries to return to work if they can. It ends after you have accumulated nine service months within a rolling 60-month period. Talk to a disability attorney to determine whether a TWP would benefit you.
Is There a Difference Between SSI and SSDI for Anxiety?
SSI is a needs-based program for those with little to no income who are at least 65 or cannot work because of a disability. The SSA uses the same criteria as SSDI to determine whether an applicant is eligible for SSI for a disabling condition. However, SSI has no work credit requirements. SSI is based on your household income level rather than your individual earnings or your work history.
Applying for SSDI for Anxiety
You can apply for SSDI benefits over the phone or in person at your local SSA office. You can also apply online on the SSA website.
To apply for SSDI, you’ll likely need proof of identity, financial information, medical records, and work history records. The documentation you might need to submit with your application includes a birth certificate, workers’ compensation paperwork, medical records, and W-2 forms, among other things. A disability lawyer can help you file your initial disability claim for the best shot at approval the first time you apply.
Appealing an SSDI Claim—You May Still Qualify
The vast majority of those who apply for SSDI—approximately 67 percent—are denied benefits on the first try. If you have received a denial but believe you should qualify, you can appeal the denial. You must appeal in writing within 60 days of the date you received your denial notice.
It’s always in your best interest to submit more information about the circumstances of your disability with your appeal. This evidence could include a letter from your latest employer attesting to your difficulties on the job or a more complete evaluation of your condition from a medical specialist. An experienced disability benefits attorney will be able to analyze your case denial and help you succeed on appeal.
Whether you’re filing for SSDI for the first time or appealing a denied application, Disability Advice can help. We can connect you with an attorney who can walk with you every step of the way and maximize your chances of SSDI approval.
Contact us online today for help getting started with your SSDI claim.
- Free case evaluation
- Assist with denied claims
- Ensure you have all documents
- Make the process easy for you
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