Past Relevant Work (PRW)
March 31, 2020
The Social Security Administration reviews the past fifteen years of your past relevant work history, per the Code of Federal Regulations Section 416.965. This is work that would have been performed for three months at the least, full-time, and that you had an opportunity to learn the work. You must have been compensated at an amount equal to the Substantial Gainful Amount (SGA) for that year. For 2020, the SGA is $1260. If your work history was sporadic or intermittent, normally these entries are not considered.
You may be deemed to be disabled if, you have an impairment such that you are no longer able to perform your prior work. Social Security couples your age, work experience and education as well as other factors, in this definition. If Social Security determines that you can still work after reviewing your Residual Functional Capacity as well, you are not going to be considered disabled. It must be glaringly apparent that you're unable to work in any other job out there in the economy, even nationally.
Social Security has a series of progressive steps that they use for determining whether or not you have a disability. It's called a sequential evaluation and it's a five step process. Past relevant work is brought into play at Step 4.
This blog is intended for information purposes only and does not establish legal representation or financial guidance.