When you apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits due to a mental health condition, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may conduct a Mental Residual Functional Capacity (MRFC) assessment. This measures how well you can do work-related tasks despite your mental health challenges.
Assessing your capability to work
The SSA assesses how your mental health condition affects your work-related abilities in four main areas:
- Understanding and memory: This looks at how well you can follow directions, from simple to complex ones. It also checks if you can remember how to do tasks or follow procedures.
- Sustained concentration and persistence: This checks how long you can focus on your work without getting distracted. It also looks at whether you can work without needing lots of breaks and if you can finish your work on time.
- Social interaction: This measures how well you can talk to coworkers and bosses. It also checks if you can deal with customers or the public if your job needs you to.
- Adapting to changes in a work environment: This sees how well you can deal with surprise situations or new ways of doing things. It also checks if you can handle the stress that comes with most jobs.
When conducting the MFRC assessment, the SSA looks at your medical records and information about your daily activities. If you’re rated as “markedly limited” or “extremely limited” in several areas, it strengthens your case for disability benefits. This is because these ratings suggest that your mental health condition significantly impacts your ability to perform work-related tasks.
However, if most of your ratings are “not significantly limited” or “moderately limited,” the SSA might conclude that you can still perform some types of work. In other words, they believe your condition doesn’t stop you from having a job that pays above a certain amount, which might make you ineligible for benefits.
Get the support you need
Your MRFC assessment matters more than you might think. An attorney can help make sure that your application accurately shows how your mental health affects your work.