Social Security Makes it Easier for People with Severe Disabilities to Get Help
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: August 11, 2025
If you or someone you care about is living with a serious medical condition, you understand how crucial it is to receive timely support. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has recently added 13 new conditions to its Compassionate Allowances (CAL) list, which will enable more people to access disability benefits more quickly.
What’s the Compassionate Allowances List?
The CAL list is our way of fast-tracking help for people with the most severe health problems. If your condition is on this list, it’s serious enough to qualify for disability benefits and your application is moved to the front of the line.
What’s Changed?
We added these 13 conditions to the CAL list:
- Au-Kline Syndrome
- Bilateral Anophthalmia
- Carey-Fineman-Ziter Syndrome
- Harlequin Ichthyosis – Child
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
- LMNA-related Congenital Muscular Dystrophy
- Progressive Muscular Atrophy
- Pulmonary Amyloidosis – AL Type
- Rasmussen Encephalitis
- Thymic Carcinoma
- Turnpenny-Fry Syndrome
- WHO Grade III Meningiomas
- Zhu-Tokita-Takenouchi-Kim Syndrome
With these additions, there are now 300 conditions on the list. That means more people than ever can get the help they need, without waiting months or even years for a decision.
Why Does This Matter?
Waiting for disability benefits can be stressful, especially when you’re dealing with a life-changing diagnosis. The CAL initiative is designed to cut through the red tape for people who need help the most. Since the initiative started, over 1.1 million people have gotten benefits more quickly because their conditions were on the list.
How Does It Work?
When you apply for disability benefits, we review your medical records to see if you qualify. If your condition is on the CAL list, we use technology to flag your application and speed things up. In some cases, we can even get your medical records electronically, which makes the process even faster.
For the full list of CAL conditions, visit: ssa.gov/compassionateallowances. To start your application for disability benefits, visit: www.ssa.gov/apply.
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Ruth M.
I am very disappointed that the SSA has capitulated to the authoritarian president by giving access to citizen’s sensitive information instead of standing up to him as other (even smaller) institutions have done!!!
Bill
While I understand the desire to prioritize certain Disability applications, when will it stop? You already have 313 health conditions on the list. Will it stop at 1000? Perhaps the better overall solution is to HIRE MORE PEOPLE to process Disability applications?
Pam J.
Is the grocery saver card a scam or is it real?
Heather K.
The SSA Social Security Administration (SSA) has always been a nonpartisan agency. The SSA sent out an unprecedented email, claiming Trumps bill eliminates federal income taxes on SS benefits for recipients. It does not.
The email was deeply misleading and dangerously political. It is coming from a government agency now being used to spread misinformation. This is weaponization of government used to mislead the public.
Jeff V.
PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX POLICY WITH NO LOOPHOLES!
Patrick M.
Frank Bisignano has no “commitment to the agency”; he’s a MAGA billionaire who had to google Social Security when he got the job. The MAGA regime intends to privatize, and they’re willing to break or bleed dry Social Security in order to make that possible. Tell them to remove the income cap that protects the wealthy – let everybody in the country pay the same percentage of their income into social security.
Heather
Thank you Patrick. We need more people to pay attention. MAGA will try to take something we have worked our entire lives to get. Social Security would have no short fall if the wealthy paid their fair share.
Charles M.
Are they going to stop taxing SS
Kerry G.
As of now, 9 states tax social security with WV ending their tax in 2026. Of the remaining 8 states, they all offer some level of relief based on AGI. On the federal side, the OBBB reduces AGI by another $12,000 per couple via a credit for purposes of SS tax. If your AGI is above $75K per couple, the deduction incrementally steps down and phases out by $150K, ensuring only the wealthiest retirees pay the most in federal tax on retirement. However, this deduction is scheduled to end in 2028, so the time is now to elect senators and congressman with an appetite for making it permanent.
brenda c.
my sister got turn down for disability and she stay sick a lots her back hearts alott and her hands hurts procedure done she had a lots of stuff wrong with her iam saying this for her
francis f.
who do you mean by they? Only congress can change tax law, including whether or not to tax social security income. As it is now, the majority of people who collect social security do not pay taxes on it because there income is not high enough. SS income is not just added in full as an income source, there is a formula to calculate how much of the ss income is taxed, up to 85% (85% is the maximum amount of social security income that is taxed, not the tax rate!).
Don S.
The new BBBill eliminates taxes on SS benefits. So with the reduced SS revenue, what is the current estimate of the year that benefits will need to be reduced? Before the Bill, I had heard that starting in about 2033 benefits would need to be reduced by about 30% for everyone. Surely it will now be much sooner. Was this even brought up in the debate about the Bill? I have heard or read nothing on this critical issue. Of course, this big reduction in benefits in the all to near future could be easily remedied by increasing the taxable income cap for the wealthy.
Peter D.
The current estimate is that Social Security retirement benefits could face a 24% reduction in late 2032, due to projected trust fund insolvency.
This estimate comes from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), which analyzed the impact of recent tax legislation—specifically the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The law reduces revenue to the Social Security Trust Fund, accelerating its depletion timeline.
🧮 What This Means for Retirees
A dual-earning couple retiring in early 2033 could see an annual benefit cut of $18,100, or about $1,509 per month.
Single-earner couples and low-income households would also face significant reductions, though the dollar amounts vary.
Without legislative action, benefits will be limited to incoming payroll tax revenue once the trust fund is exhausted.
📅 Timeline Summary
Year Event
2032 Estimated trust fund insolvency
2033 First retirees affected by automatic benefit cuts
2099 Projected benefit cuts could exceed 30% if no reforms are made
If you’re planning for retirement or already receiving benefits, this is a critical issue to watch. Want help estimating your own future Social Security benefits or exploring how to prepare for potential changes?
http://www.crfb.org
Ronald M.
Yes, higher wage earners should have the Social Security added based on income.
francis f.
The bbbill did not eliminate taxes on ss benefits, at all. There has been an unfortunate amount of disinformation about that. Also, Social Security is funded through payroll tax and self employment tax, not income taxes so taxes on social security income do not impact the amount of money that the social security trust fund has.
Pat F.
Don S. Taxes are not eliminated on SS. You just get an extra $6,000 deduction if over 65
Giles A.
I think its really bad when an office at 8am and then locks the doors around 9 am because they say there so busy. That’s just laziness.
Dlg
Proof please.
Esmaiel
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Thank you so much and appreciated