Social Security Work History Reports: What to Know
While applying for Social Security Disability, you’ll face a significant amount of paperwork.
At first glance it can seem repetitive. Specifically, the Social Security “Work History Report” and “Work Activity Report” seem like they are basically the same thing.
So, why is Social Security sending you both of them and why do you have to complete them both?
On this page, the Utah Social Security Disability lawyers at Barnes Disability Advocates break it down for you—so you can have a smoother process toward receiving financial assistance when you can’t work due to health problems.
What Is the Social Security Disability Work Activity Report?
When you apply for disability initially, Social Security will ask about the date that your disability started.
We call this the “alleged onset date” or AOD. This date isn’t necessarily when you were first diagnosed with an issue, but rather when your medical limitations prevented you from working at the level that Social Security determines to be substantial.
The number one rule in disability is that if you are working at the substantial level, you are not officially “disabled,” no matter how severe your medical issues.
(For more on what Social Security considers substantial work, see our blog post “Can You Work While You Apply for Social Security Disability?”)
If you have worked at all since your alleged onset date, Social Security will want you to complete a Work Activity Report so they can determine whether or not that work was over their limits for substantial gainful activity, or SGA.
There are two different Work Activity Reports that Social Security uses, the SSA-820 and the SSA-821.
You may be asked to complete one or both of these reports depending on the type of work you have done since your AOD.
- SSA-820 is a Work Activity Report that covers self-employment. This can include work for ride share or food delivery companies. If you received a 1099 tax form for your earnings at the end of the year or you are working under-the-table, the SSA-820 is likely the form you need to complete.
- The SSA-821 is a Social Security Work Activity Report that covers regular jobs where you get a W-2 tax form at the end of the year. Make sure to submit pay stubs with this form.
Besides tracking your earnings, the Work Activity Report can also determine whether you have received income that doesn’t count against you in getting disability benefits, like money from a short-term or long-term disability insurance policy you may have from your work.
The Social Security Work Activity Report also covers any special accommodations you might receive at work that allow you to complete the job. (Assistive devices and technologies, special locations for your workspace to adjust for accessibility, temperature, noise and more, adjustments to job duties, more detailed instructions, more breaks, more schedule flexibility, remote work and more.)
Showing you need accommodations helps establish that you can’t do the job as it’s normally performed without extra support. Being unable to work in competitive (i.e. work without accommodation) full-time jobs because of health impairments is the key to qualifying for disability benefits.
If you don’t complete the Work Activity Report when Social Security asks for it, it’s entirely possible they will deny your disability claim without even doing a medical evaluation.
What Is the Social Security Disability Work History Report?
When determining whether or not you have a disability under Social Security’s guidelines, one thing Social Security looks for is whether or not you can return to “past relevant work” or PRW.
In the past, PRW was defined as all jobs you performed in the last 15 years for at least 30 days per job. However, as of August 26, 2024, Social Security reduced PRW to jobs performed in the last five years.
The Social Security Work History Report (SSA-3369-BK) is where you detail those five years of jobs and what tasks each job required you to do.
You need to provide specifics of the physical demands of the job as well as the required skills and training. It’s important to be as thorough as possible—describe every duty and task—because you want it to be clear why you can’t return to this work now that you have medical limitations.
For instance, there’s a section of the Work History Report that asks about weight that you carry on the job. You will want exact information about what objects you needed to carry, how heavy they were, and how much you needed to carry them, even if you didn’t do that task daily.
Here’s an example:
“I would have to lift six to eight, 40 to 50-pound boxes from a pallet to a cart that I could bring out into the store to stock shelves. Once I finished stocking those items, I would have to go back to the warehouse to get six to eight more boxes and do it again. Over the course of a shift, I would do this 10-12 times.”
Some parts of the form don’t really offer a space for explanations. For instance, the form asks about how much of your time was spent climbing ladders. But you may not have to do that regularly, and explaining the times when you did use a ladder takes more description.
This is what the remarks section of the form is for, to provide more information that doesn’t fit in other places.
Here’s another example of what you might put down:
“Regarding Job 1, on Tuesdays, we would get a shipment of furniture which would have to be placed out on the store floor. Whatever didn’t fit on the floor would have to be put up into the rafter part of the warehouse. To do this, we had wheeled ladders which we would move to where we needed them, and two people would carry up the furniture so we could get it on the correct shelf. On Tuesdays I might have to go up and down that ladder six or more times. However, during the rest of the week, I may not be required to use a ladder at all.”
As you can see, that gives a lot of information about you using ladders that might not be covered by just stating how much time you spent climbing them during a shift.
The Social Security Work History Report also has a question at the end of each job section asking why you can’t return to this work.
This is a very important question. Again, be as detailed as possible and use the remarks section for any information that doesn’t fit in the space provided.
You don’t want to be denied disability benefits because Social Security thinks you can return to your past relevant work.
You need enough information about the requirements of the job and why you can’t return to it to convince Social Security you’re now unable to work.
Get Help Completing Both Forms from Experienced Utah Disability Lawyers
As you can see, both the Social Security Work History Report and Work Activity Report are central to getting approved for Social Security Disability benefits.
You need to fill out both as accurately as possible.
The Utah disability attorney team at Barnes Disability Advocates can provide guidance on how to complete these forms.
We don’t know all the information you need because you are the one who did the jobs. You must be involved in completing these forms.
But our disability law firm staff can ask you questions about your past work to help you recall the kinds of details Social Security is looking for, and we can advise you on what to put down.
The rules to get Social Security Disability are strict. At Barnes Disability Advocates, our job is to help you build a strong claim for benefits, improve your chances of approval, make the process easier for you, and get you financial relief for a more secure, independent life.
