The laws governing Social Security Disability benefits are continually growing and changing. SSRs, or Social Security Rulings, play a critical role in this process.
A Social Security Ruling, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), is “a series of precedential decisions relating to the SSA’s programs that are issued pursuant to the Commissioner of Social Security’s authority.”
Social Security Rulings may be issued at any administrative level of SSA adjudication, including Federal court rulings, Office of the General Counsel views, Commissioner decisions, and interpretations of Social Security Disability rules and regulations.
It is critical to understand that Social Security Rulings lack the authority of actual laws or regulations. However, they are binding on all SSA components and are utilized to adjudicate Social Security Disability claims.
Social Security Determinations are public documents. These records are published in the Federal Register’s “Notices” section. Once a Social Security Ruling is published, it becomes effective immediately. This implies that once a Social Security Ruling is published in the Federal Register’s Notices section, it becomes effective and may be applied to an applicant’s Social Security Disability case.
Social Security Disability rulings are frequently utilized as a benchmark for other comparable Social Security Disability cases. For instance, if a refused disability applicant successfully appeals a denial of their disability claim and a judgment is issued as a result of the appeal, the Social Security Ruling may be applied in the future to comparable Social Security Disability cases.