Does thyroid disease qualify for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration? Your thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped organ at the base of your neck. As part of your endocrine system, your thyroid gland helps regulate your metabolism, heart rate, weight, muscle strength, body temperature, and cholesterol levels.
Thyroid disease is common, affecting at least 20 million people globally. Thyroid gland disorders can include either hyper- or hypothyroidism, Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s, or thyroid cancer.
Below, we’ll explain what thyroid conditions may qualify for disability benefits, typical pay amounts, and how to apply.
Disability for Thyroid Disease: Key Takeaways
- Very few people get disability for thyroid disorders alone. Unless you have an aggressive thyroid cancer, you’ll likely need to list other medical conditions on your claim.
- Medical records showing you cannot work even with regular treatment are key for securing monthly benefits. This shows you cannot work full time, even on hormone replacement medication.
- You must prove you cannot work in any job at all for a minimum of 12 months to be eligible.
- Working with a disability lawyer makes you far more likely to file a successful claim the first time you apply for benefits.
How Does the Social Security Administration Define Disability?
Unlike most of us, the Social Security Administration (SSA) defines “disability” in a very particular way. An official medical condition diagnosis alone cannot qualify you for Social Security disability benefits. Rather, your health condition(s) must prevent you from doing any work-related tasks for at least 12 months.
The SSA calls not being able to work enough to support yourself financially “engaging in substantial gainful activity.” So if you were a forklift driver and can no longer do that job, but can work in other jobs, the SSA says you aren’t disabled.
Technical Requirements You Must Meet to Qualify for Disability Benefits
It’s important to remember that the SSA won’t evaluate your claim at all unless you meet all of their technical, non-medical requirements. This includes earning too much money ($1,550 for non-blind and $2,590 for blind applicants per month) or already drawing Social Security. That means if you’re at least 62 years old and already drawing early retirement, you cannot qualify for disability.
Since there are two different Social Security disability programs that offer benefits, review the technical eligibility rules below.
Program #1: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
To get SSDI for any of the above thyroid-related changes to your health, you also need 40 Social Security work credits. This applies to anyone at least 30 years old who applies for SSDI payments. (If you’re younger, you can possibly qualify with fewer credits.)
Pro Tip: If you worked 5 in the last 10 years full time while paying Social Security payroll taxes, you currently meet this requirement.
If you haven’t worked in more than 60 months, then you cannot qualify for SSDI payments. Learn more about work credits and the role they play in SSDI benefits.
Program #2: Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
SSI benefits come out of the general tax fund, so you don’t need any work history to qualify for those disability payments. However, the income requirement in order to qualify for SSI is much more strict. Instead of looking at just your individual income, the SSA looks at everyone’s earnings who lives in the same home as you. The amount shown above still applies, and you must have less than $2,000 in total countable assets. That includes things like your bank account balance, plus anything you can easily sell for cash. For couples, the SSI limit is $3,000.
Can I Get Disability for Thyroid Disease?
If you’ve passed all of the requirements listed above, you then have to cross another hurdle. That one involves finding the disability or disease that you suffer from in the SSA’s Blue Book. Thyroid disease does not appear in the SSA Blue Book, but thyroid gland disorders do. The SSA evaluates those claims under Blue Book listing 9, Endocrine System Disorders.
What does this mean? It means that just having thyroid disease alone won’t qualify you for disability benefits. But if your symptoms are disruptive enough, or you have serious complications that match another listed condition, then you might qualify.
The SSA evaluates thyroid disease using the following measures:
- Blood pressure and heart rate changes that result in arrhythmias or other cardiac dysfunction
- Thyroid-related weight loss
- Strokes, including temporary ischemic attacks (TIAs)
- Cognitive limitations
- Mood disorders or swings
- Anxiety
Is Hashimoto’s Disease a Disability?
Most Americans with Hashimoto’s disease do not qualify for disability benefits. However, if you have advanced Hashimoto’s disease or serious related conditions, you may have a better chance of approval.
Pro Tip: List every health problem on your claim, since 62% of people awarded payments have 3-5 chronic medical conditions.
Is Thyroid Cancer a Qualifying Disability?
The word “cancer” is scary for most people. And to hear that a cancer diagnosis doesn’t automatically qualify as a disability in the SSA’s eyes is equally shocking. This is true of thyroid cancer, too. In order to qualify for disability, you will have to meet all the requirements mentioned earlier.
If you have thyroid cancer and cannot work for at least one year, then the SSA may award you disability benefits.
There are four types of thyroid cancer:
- Papillary
- Medullary
- Follicular
- Anaplastic
Of those, only anaplastic thyroid cancer automatically counts as a disability during your claim evaluation. This is because it’s an aggressive cancer that appears on the SSA’s Compassionate Allowances list.
This list, also known as the CAL list, speeds up awarding disability benefits to people with certain severe medical conditions. The CAL list currently designates 278 conditions, and the SSA updates it with new ones each year. In fact, up to 95% of people who apply with a CAL condition get approved in 10-14 days.
Can I Get Disability for Graves’ Disease?
Graves’ disease is a form of hyperthyroidism, which means the body makes too many thyroid hormones. While anyone can get Graves’ disease, it is more common in women and people who are at least 30 years old.
Common symptoms of an overactive thyroid in Graves’ disease can include:
- Poor sleep
- Irritability
- Tremors
- Losing weight while also having an increased appetite
- Having a goiter (i.e., an enlarged thyroid gland)
- Menstrual cycle changes or interruptions
- Erectile dysfunction
- Decreased libido
- Frequent bowel movements
- Fatigue
- Fast or irregular heartbeat
- Bulging eyes
- Thick, discolored skin primarily on the shins and the top of the feet
Graves’ disease alone isn’t a qualifying disability. If it leads to heart complications, which it sometimes does, that might qualify under section 4, Cardiovascular System disorders.
Does Hypothyroidism Qualify for Social Security Disability?
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which your body produces too little thyroid hormone. On its own, it is not a qualifying condition for Social Security disability benefits. However, if your hypothyroidism affects other body systems, then you may qualify under those specific parameters, such as:
- Heart issues, including recurrent arrhythmias
- Weight gain
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Other mood disorders that prevent you from full time employment
Pro Tip: Keep a symptom diary to track your daily ups and downs. You can submit this along with your disability claim as medical evidence.
Is Hyperthyroidism Considered a Disability by the SSA?
On its own, no. But because hyperthyroidism can often affect energy levels, mood, and temperature regulation, you can apply for benefits for those issues if they prevent you from working for at least 12 consecutive months.
Thyroid Disorder Symptoms & Related Conditions That May Help You Get Social Security Disability Benefits
Depending on the severity of the symptoms of your unique thyroid disorder, if you are unable to work for 12 consecutive months or if your employer cannot make the necessary accommodations for you to be able to work within your functional limitations, then you could qualify for disability benefits.
Thyroid disorder symptoms that may help you get SSDI benefits include:
- Frequently needing to urinate
- Extreme cold and heat sensitivity
- Feeling dizzy or disoriented
Important: If your thyroid disease symptoms include the inability to move freely or without accommodation because of stiff joints or other arthritis symptoms, you might have a better chance at SSDI benefits.
The need to frequently urinate, which is common in both people with thyroid disorders and diabetes, can help you get SSDI benefits. So can comorbidities of other autoimmune disorders, like lupus.
The bottom line is that the SSA needs to see that your thyroid disorder limits your ability to perform daily tasks without help. Having another autoimmune disorder, arthritis, or diabetes can make it harder to work and therefore strengthens your disability application.
Medical Evidence & Tests You’ll Need for Your Disability for Thyroid Disorder Claim
The key to disability claim approvald is strong, recent, and relevant medical documentation about your thyroid gland disorder. Here are some things you should submit to Social Security along with your claim:
- Recent bloodwork results, especially those that show current TSH, T4, T3, and hormone levels
- Heart scans or tests that show cardiac arrhythmias related to your thyroid condition
- PET scan or similar showing distant metastases in thyroid cancer cases despite treatment
- Treatment and disease progression notes in a letter from your doctor
- Signed and completed residual functional capacity (RFC) form from your doctor
- List of medications your doctor prescribes to treat your thyroid condition
How to Apply for Disability Benefits
You have 3 ways to apply for either SSDI or SSI disability:
- In person at your local Social Security office.
- Over the phone by calling 1-800-772-1213 Monday through Friday, 7am-8pm Eastern time.
- Through a local Social Security disability attorney, which costs nothing out of your own pocket. You only pay a legal fee after the SSA awards you benefits.
For SSDI applications only, you can also start your claim online at SSA.gov.
Get Free Expert Help Securing Social Security Disability Benefits for Thyroid Disorders
If you or someone you love needs Social Security disability benefits, why not consult an attorney for free? It’s the fastest and easiest way to find out whether or not you may qualify for monthly benefits before you start your application.
We can connect you with a nearby Social Security attorney who can answer all your questions privately, and for free. Working with a disability lawyer also makes you 3x more likely to get approval for Social Security disability benefits within 6 months. People who file without an attorney’s help typically wait 2-3 years for approval, if they succeed. However, the SSA only awards benefits to 1 in 5 first-time applicants. Just 30% of people who applied in the last few years eventually received benefits at all.
If a disability lawyer cannot help you get Social Security benefits for a thyroid condition, then you pay $0. That’s because all Social Security attorneys work on contingency. And if you are successful, then you only pay one small fee after your award comes through.
Ready to see if you may qualify for disability? Click the button below to start your free online benefits quiz now:
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Lisa Allen is a writer and editor who lives in suburban Kansas City. She holds MFAs in Creative Nonfiction and Poetry, both from the Solstice Low-Residency Program in Creative Writing at Pine Manor College. Prior to becoming a writer, Lisa worked as a paralegal, where she specialized in real estate in and around Chicago.
