Past Relevant Work: How Your Job History Affects Your Claim
TL;DR: Past relevant work (PRW) is any job you held in the last 15 years at the SGA level for long enough to learn it. At Step 4, the SSA compares your RFC to PRW demands. If you can do any past job as it's generally performed nationally, you're denied. Accurately describing the physical and mental demands of past jobs is critical. Understating demands makes denial more likely. The SSA uses the Dictionary of Occupational Titles to classify your past work.
Your work history is not just background information. It's a key factor in the SSA's decision. At Step 4, the question is whether you can return to any job you've done in the past 15 years. How you describe those jobs can determine whether your claim survives to Step 5.
What Counts as Past Relevant Work
A job qualifies as PRW if it meets all three criteria:
- Performed within the last 15 years
- Performed at the SGA level (you earned enough for it to be considered substantial)
- Performed long enough to learn the job duties (varies by complexity)
How the SSA Classifies Jobs
The SSA uses the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) to classify your past jobs by exertional level (sedentary, light, medium, heavy, very heavy) and skill level (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled). The DOT description determines how the job is "generally performed in the national economy," not how you specifically did it.
Why Job Description Matters
When you fill out the SSA-3369 (Work History Report), be thorough and accurate about physical demands. If your warehouse job required lifting 75-pound boxes regularly, say so. If you stood for 8 hours straight, document it. If you had to use heavy machinery, describe it.
Understating the demands of past work helps the SSA argue you can return to those jobs. If you say your warehouse job only required lifting 20 pounds and standing occasionally, the SSA may classify it as light work and conclude your RFC allows you to do it.
Skill Transferability
At Step 5, the SSA considers whether skills from your past work transfer to less demanding jobs. Skills are considered transferable if they can be used in other jobs with little or no additional training. After age 55, the SSA requires "very little, if any, vocational adjustment" for skills to count as transferable.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What should I know about past relevant work: how your job history affects your claim?
TL;DR: Past relevant work (PRW) is any job you held in the last 15 years at the SGA level for long enough to learn it. At Step 4, the SSA compares your RFC to PRW demands. If you can do any past job as it's generally performed nationally, you're denied.
What Counts as Past Relevant Work?
A job qualifies as PRW if it meets all three criteria:
How the SSA Classifies Jobs?
The SSA uses the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) to classify your past jobs by exertional level (sedentary, light, medium, heavy, very heavy) and skill level (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled). The DOT description determines how the job is "generally performed in the national economy," not how you specifically did it.
Why Job Description Matters?
When you fill out the SSA-3369 (Work History Report), be thorough and accurate about physical demands. If your warehouse job required lifting 75-pound boxes regularly, say so. If you stood for 8 hours straight, document it.
What should I know about skill transferability?
At Step 5, the SSA considers whether skills from your past work transfer to less demanding jobs. Skills are considered transferable if they can be used in other jobs with little or no additional training. After age 55, the SSA requires "very little, if any, vocational adjustment" for skills to count as transferable.