Direct answer
What are the SSA Grid Rules?
The SSA Grid Rules — formally the Medical-Vocational Guidelines — are tables the Social Security Administration uses to direct disability decisions by combining residual functional capacity, age, education, and past-work skills, with outcomes becoming more favorable at ages 50, 55, and 60.
The Grid Rules explain why age matters so much in SSDI decisions and why the same medical file can lose at 45 and win at 55.
Sourced from ssa.gov — see citations below.
Where they live
The Grid Rules are set out in 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2.
What they combine
Residual Functional Capacity (sedentary, light, medium), age bracket, education level, and whether past work skills transfer to other work.
Why age matters
Break points at ages 50, 55, and 60 make approval more likely — the SSA presumes older workers cannot easily adjust to new kinds of work.
Topics
Sources
Every figure and rule on this page is drawn from official SSA publications. Verify at the links below.