1.      Are you working?

At Step 1, Social Security considers your work activity. If you are engaging in work activity, and you are earning at or above a certain amount, this is known as Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). If you are engaging in SGA, Social Security will find that you are not disabled. Therefore, Social Security will not move on to any of the other steps in the five-step sequential evaluation process.

 If Social Security determines that you are not engaging in work activity, then the answer to the first step is no, you are not working, and Social Security will move on to Step 2.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is an insurance program for people who have worked and paid enough taxes to be insured for disability benefits should they become disabled. The amount of a person’s SSDI benefit will depend on how much they earned and how much in taxes they paid.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a need-based program for people who have never worked and never paid taxes, or who have not worked enough to be insured for SSDI, should they become disabled.