Age, education, and past relevant work are some of the most critical factors in any SSD claim. Certain jobs are automatically unavailable to people at certain ages, educational levels, skills that transfer from past relevant work or those without past relevant work experience. (“Past relevant work experience” is work that was done for six months or more during the last 15 years).
To accommodate these factors in each case, the social security department offers GRID rules. GRID rules are medical-vocational guidelines that are used to help get people approved for disability.
For example, at the age of 50, there is a GRID rule that can apply to your case. Then another GRID rule will apply at age 55, and yet another will apply at age 60.
Generally speaking, the social security administration gives greater preference to cases as the applicant gets older. As a result, the younger you are, the harder it is to win a social security disability case.