The importance of the Social Security Insurance (SSI) function report – is very high. It is a form that measures what you can and cannot do.
- Learn what the SSA Function Form does by reading our blog: What is the Function Report?
- Read tips on how to correctly fill out the SSI Function Form in our blog: Tips for Completing Your Function Report
At first glance, it might seem as though the SSA Function Report form is just random or unimportant, but the answers from this form can move your case forward or be the cause of its rejection.
The form has a few roles that it plays, and those roles are not obvious. The SSA Function form is also called SSA Form 3373 and the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire. You may hear these names interchangeably but they all mean the SSA Function Report.
Here is a closer look at what the Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (SSA Function Report) does and why it is important.
- Ranks Functionality – the SSA Function Report helps to determine how well you function throughout your entire day. It is both asking what you cannot do and indirectly asks what you can do. The report also helps the SSA and labor judges determine if you can or cannot work. In 2015, men represented less than 52 percent of disability claims and women less than 48 percent. [2]
- Helps Determine Accuracy – Second, it shows how consistent you are in your abilities and does so by providing a comparison against your illness or disease. It helps to determine if your illness or injury fits the patterns associated with this type of illness or injury. It also helps spots fraud and answers that are possibly inflated and made to appear worse
- Collects Additional Information – Third, it acts as an easy way to gather additional information about you and your condition and it does this because people tend to provide too much information. Remember that a “yes” or “no” question need only a yes or a no answer.
- GateKeeper – Fourth, it is a handy tool to stall or deny your claim either because the form is not filled out completely or because it shows that you can do some form of work and hold a job, even if that job is not the one you currently have. In 2010, the award rate for disability claims was only 34.8 percent. [1]
Understanding the importance of the Function Report as it relates to your SSI claim can help you better answer the questions that the SSA asks on form SSA 3373. Therefore, it is important to learn how to fill out the Social Security Disability questionnaire properly.
Sources and Literature
[1] Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2011 – Social Security Administration
[2] Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2015 – Social Security Administration
