The Social Security Administration had issued plans to the disability process which would have hindered Social Security benefits to millions of Americans under “The Mega Reg.” In November of 2025, Social Security announced it had abandoned plans to block thousands of older Americans from qualifying for disability benefits after an uproar that reached senior officials in the Trump White House, according to people familiar with the decision.
The agency is also halting a plan to use modern labor market data to help judges decide whether disability claimants can work. This has been a long-standing project that has cost the federal government more than $350 million. The new data would have replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, which is an outdated jobs database that until recently included obsolete occupations.
This is good news for Americans filing for disability as the plan would have removed or limited the consideration of a person’s age when determining their ability to work. Many advocacy groups and senior officials increased their response and pressure on the Administration to halt these projects as six million people were newly awarded Social Security benefits in 2024.
If you are looking at filing a claim for Social Security disability, contact Gardberg and Kemmerly. We are committed to helping the injured and disabled for over thirty years. If you need help with a disability claim, call the office at 343-1111 for a free consultation.