20 C.F.R. § 404.1577
Disability defined for widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses for monthly benefits payable for months prior to January 1991
For monthly benefits payable for months prior to January 1991, the law provides that to be entitled to a widow's or widower's benefit as a disabled widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse, you must have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months. The impairment(s) must have been of a level of severity to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity. To determine whether you were disabled, we consider only your physical or mental impairment(s). We do not consider your age, education, and work experience. We also do not consider certain felony-related and prison-related impairments, as explained in § 404.1506. (For monthly benefits payable for months after December 1990, see § 404.1505(a).)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 48
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1981–2021 · leading case: Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137 (1987).
Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137 (1987). “" 20 CFR § 404.1577 (1986). He further explains that the claimant will be found to be disabled only if he is not doing any substantial gainful activity and his impairment meets the requirements of an impairment listed in an accompanying appendix.”
Sullivan v. Finkelstein, 496 U.S. 617 (1990). “Under regulations promulgated by the Secretary, 20 CFR §§ 404.1577 , 404.1578(a)(1) (1989), a surviving spouse is deemed disabled only if the spouse suffers from a physical or mental impairment meeting or equaling the severity of an impairment included in the Secretary's Listing…”
Coreen L. SPRAGUE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., Defendant-Appellee, 812 F.2d 1226 (9th Cir. 1987). “20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 (1985). 2 Benefits are granted when “specific clinical findings” show that a widow suffers from an impairment listed in Appendix 1 or from one or more unlisted impairments that singly or in combination are “medically equivalent” to a listed impairment.”
Ethel TOLANY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Sec'y of U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., Defendant-Appellee, 756 F.2d 268 (2d Cir. 1985). “20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 (1984). These two differences, a higher substantive standard and a slightly modified methodology, distinguish the disability determination for widows 3 from the disability determination for wage earners.”
D. Beryl Kier v. Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., 888 F.2d 244 (2d Cir. 1989). “Specifically, the Secretary claims that social security adjudicators may not consider a widow’s residual functional capacity in determining whether her impairments are medically equivalent to an impairment contained in the Listings.”
Daisy DORTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., Defendant-Appellee, 789 F.2d 363 (6th Cir. 1986). “20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 (1985). Section 423(d)(2)(B) authorizes the Secretary to set standards of severity for alleged disabilities which will be deemed to preclude an individual from engaging in any gainful activity.”
Herbert LISTENBEE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Sec'y OF HEALTH & HUMAN Servs., Defendant-Appellee, 846 F.2d 345 (6th Cir. 1988). “20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 . Further, the impairment must prevent the claimant from doing any substantial gainful activity.”
Awilda CASSAS, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. Sec'y OF HEALTH & HUMAN Servs., Defendant, Appellee, 893 F.2d 454 (1st Cir. 1990). “As to widows’ benefits, however, the regulations say that the Secretary will “not consider age, education and work experience” in determining disability, 20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 ; and that the Secretary will find entitlement to widows’ benefits if the impairment meets a listing or…”
Jeannette DAVIDSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sec'y OF HEALTH & HUMAN Servs., Defendant-Appellant, 912 F.2d 1246 (10th Cir. 1990). “The Secretary responded to this mandate for stricter standards in the case of widow’s disability benefits by promulgating regulations that prohibit consideration of age, education and work experience, 20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 , and that limit the Secretary’s determination of…”
Ketcher v. Apfel, 68 F. Supp. 2d 629 (D. Maryland 1999). “See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1577 , 404.1520(d). 34 .”
Margarette H. Paris v. Richard S. Schweiker, Sec'y of Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 674 F.2d 707 (8th Cir. 1982). “§§ 423 (d)(1)(A) & (d)(2)(B); 20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 . Specifically, a widow must have either an impairment which has been deemed sufficiently disabling by the Secretary, or a condition which is “medically equivalent” to a listed impairment.”
Rose M. Smith v. Richard Schweiker, Sec'y of the Dept. Of Health & Human Servs., 671 F.2d 789 (3rd Cir. 1982). “20 C.F.R. § 404.1577 (1981). 2 A wage earner, by comparison, need only show that his impairment prevents him from performing any substantial gainful activity, which can be established based upon such non-medical factors as age, education and work experience.”
— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1577(b) — 1 case
Ryan v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (N.D. Iowa 2021).
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