(a) When you are not entitled to benefits. If you become entitled to disability cash benefits as a statutorily blind person, we will find that you are no longer entitled to benefits beginning with the earliest of -
(1) The month your vision, based on current medical evidence, does not meet the definition of blindness and your disability does not continue under the rules in § 404.1594 and you were disabled only for a specified period of time in the past;
(2) The month your vision, based on current medical evidence, does not meet the definition of blindness and your disability does not continue under the rules in § 404.1594, but not earlier than the month in which we mail you a notice saying that the information we have shows that you are not disabled;
(3) If you are under age 55, the month in which you demonstrated your ability to engage in substantial gainful activity (following completion of a trial work period); however, we may pay you benefits for certain months in and after the reentitlement period which follows the trial work period. (See § 404.1592a for a discussion of the reentitlement period, and § 404.316 on when your benefits will end.); or
(4) If you are age 55 or older, the month (following completion of a trial work period) when your work activity shows you are able to use, in substantial gainful activity, skills and abilities comparable to those of some gainful activity which you did with some regularity and over a substantial period of time. The skills and abilities are compared to the activity you did prior to age 55 or prior to becoming blind, whichever is later.
(b) If we find that you are not entitled to disability cash benefits. If we find that you are not entitled to disability cash benefits on the basis of your work activity but your visual impairment is sufficiently severe to meet the definition of blindness, the period of disability that we established for you will continue.
(c) If you do not follow prescribed treatment. If treatment has been prescribed for you that can restore your ability to work, you must follow that treatment in order to be paid benefits. If you are not following that treatment and you do not have a good reason for failing to follow that treatment (see § 404.1530(c)), we will find that your disability has ended. The month in which your disability will be found to have ended will be the first month in which you failed to follow the prescribed treatment.
(d) If you do not cooperate with us. If we ask you to give us medical or other evidence or to go for a medical examination by a certain date, we will find that your disability has ended if you fail, without good cause, to do what we ask. Section 404.911 explains the factors we consider and how we will determine generally whether you have good cause for failure to cooperate. In addition, § 404.1518 discusses how we determine whether you have good cause for failing to attend a consultative examination. The month in which your disability will be found to have ended will be the month in which you failed to do what we asked.
(e) If we are unable to find you. If there is a question about whether you continue to be disabled by blindness and we are unable to find you to resolve the question, we will find that your disability, has ended. The month it ends will be the first month in which the question arose and we could not find you.
(f) Before we stop your benefits. Before we stop your benefits or period of disability, we will give you a chance to give us your reasons why we should not stop your benefits or your period of disability. Section 404.1595 describes your rights and the procedures we will follow.
(g) If you are in an appropriate program of vocational rehabilitation services, employment services, or other support services.
(1) Your benefits, and those of your dependents, may be continued after your impairment is no longer disabling if -
(i) You are participating in an appropriate program of vocational rehabilitation services, employment services, or other support services, as described in § 404.327(a) and (b);
(ii) You began participating in the program before the date your disability ended; and
(iii) We have determined under § 404.328 that your completion of the program, or your continuation in the program for a specified period of time, will increase the likelihood that you will not have to return to the disability benefit rolls.
(2) We generally will stop your benefits with the earliest of these months -
(i) The month in which you complete the program; or
(ii) The month in which you stop participating in the program for any reason (see § 404.327(b) for what we mean by “participating” in the program); or
(iii) The month in which we determine under § 404.328 that your continuing participation in the program will no longer increase the likelihood that you will not have to return to the disability benefit rolls.
Exception to paragraph (d): In no case will we stop your benefits with a month earlier than the second month after the month your disability ends, provided that you meet all other requirements for entitlement to and payment of benefits through such month.
[45 FR 55584, Aug. 20, 1980, as amended at 47 FR 31543, July 21, 1982; 47 FR 52693, Nov. 23, 1982; 49 FR 22272, May 29, 1984; 50 FR 50130, Dec. 6, 1985; 51 FR 17617, May 14, 1986; 59 FR 1635, Jan. 12, 1994; 70 FR 36507, June 24, 2005]