1. SSA’s Definition of Disability

To be considered disabled under SSA rules, your condition must:

• Prevent you from engaging in substantial gainful activity (SGA). In 2025, this means earning more than $1,550 per month (or $2,590 per month if you are blind).
• Be severe, meaning it significantly limits your ability to perform basic work tasks such as lifting, standing, walking, or remembering.
• Last or be expected to last for at least 12 months, or be expected to result in death.

SSA does not provide short-term or partial disability benefits. Your condition must prevent you from performing any full-time work on a sustained basis.

2. Qualifying Medical Conditions

The SSA maintains a Listing of Impairments (Blue Book), which includes medical conditions that are considered severe enough to automatically qualify for disability if specific criteria are met. Some of the most common conditions that qualify in Nebraska include:

• Musculoskeletal disorders: Severe back injuries, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, joint dysfunction, fractures with lasting limitations
• Cardiovascular conditions: Chronic heart failure, coronary artery disease, recurrent arrhythmias
• Neurological disorders: Multiple sclerosis, epilepsy with frequent seizures, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury
• Respiratory conditions: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), severe asthma, cystic fibrosis
• Mental health disorders: Severe depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders with significant functional limitations
• Endocrine disorders: Uncontrolled diabetes with complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy, or amputation
• Cancer: Certain cancers automatically qualify if they are advanced, recurrent, or terminal
• Immune system disorders: Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS with significant complications

Even if your condition is not listed in the Blue Book, you can still qualify if you prove it limits your ability to perform any substantial work activity.

3. Medical Evidence Requirements

To qualify for disability benefits in Nebraska, you must provide strong medical evidence showing:

• Your diagnosis and treatment history
• Objective findings such as lab results, imaging studies, and physical examinations
• Doctor’s opinions describing your limitations in daily activities and work tasks
• Records showing that your condition persists despite treatment

SSA will evaluate how your condition limits your residual functional capacity (RFC), which is your ability to do work-related activities like sitting, standing, walking, lifting, and concentrating.

4. Inability to Perform Past Work or Adjust to Other Work

If your condition does not meet or equal a listing, SSA will determine:

• Whether you can still perform any of your past relevant work from the last 15 years
• Whether you can adjust to any other type of work based on your age, education, skills, and medical limitations

If you are unable to perform any full-time work, you will be found disabled.

5. SSDI vs. SSI Program Eligibility

• SSDI: Requires enough work credits from past employment and paying into Social Security.
• SSI: For individuals with limited income and resources, regardless of work history.

Both programs use the same medical criteria to determine disability.