In title II disability claims and title XVI adult disability claims, the AOD is always the date the claimant alleges he or she became unable to work because of his or her medical condition, whether or not that date appears to be appropriate.
The claimant’s AOD is the starting point in establishing the established onset date (EOD). If the medical and other evidence, and the entitlement or eligibility factors, are consistent with the AOD, the AOD is also the EOD, the date we establish the claimant first meets the medical, vocational, and other entitlement or eligibility requirements for disability benefits. If there are non-medical factors present that prohibit the disability examiner (DE) from establishing an EOD as of AOD (e.g., work after onset), or could allow the DE to establish an EOD earlier than the AOD, if supported by the medical evidence (e.g. an unsuccessful work attempt), the FO proposes a potential onset date (POD). For more information about the role of the POD when establishing an EOD, see DI 25501.220A.1.
We consider the date the claimant stopped performing SGA when establishing the EOD. The fact the claimant performed SGA on the AOD is not relevant. If medical and other evidence indicates the claimant’s disability began on the AOD, an EOD can be established on that date even if the claimant worked a full day. W e will not establish onset before the last day SGA was performed. For information on closed periods, see DI 25501.210A.4. in this section. Exception: For Disability Insurance Benefit (DIB) claimants who meet our statutory definition of blindness, we establish a disability freeze on the date they meet our statutory definition of blindness, regardless of SGA. For more details on establishing onset of blindness, see DI 25501.380.
We establish a closed period of disability in situations where a claimant was unable to engage in SGA for a continuous period of 12 months, but, by the time the determination is made, the claimant is no longer disabled and is engaging in SGA or is capable of engaging in SGA, if the claimant meets all other requirements. The AOD may be prior to a current period of SGA. For more information on adjudicating closed period determinations, see DI 25510.001 through DI 25510.015.
DI 11010.250 for information on the field office’s policy for using work activity reports to annotate UWAs,