I'm going to play devil's advocate here, not to judge y'all or your case because I have no reason or experience to do that but in hopes that you'll consider the questions I think Social Security would have.

From what I've seen in the news, a LOT of people whose unemployment is running out and who are at "that age" are applying for SSD to try to make ends meet. Unfortunately, that's going to be a strike against y'all, justified or not. The system has been flooded with applications so even if you have a good case, it's going to be delayed and it's also going to be considered with a hyper-critical eye.

They're going to wonder why John didn't apply sooner and why it wasn't an issue before he lost his job and before his unemployment benefits were soon to expire. Disabling arthritis doesn't usually happen within a short period of time (unless it's the autoimmune type). So you'll have to prove that when he was working, the arthritis was a huge problem.

Did he miss work a lot because of the arthritis? Did he try to modify his work? Did he try different jobs? Was he fired because of problems related to the arthritis? Make sure your application shows and explains all of this. Does he have at least a cordial relationship with his former employer? Try to maintain one, because SSA will contact the employer.

Has he tried to work since he got fired and failed at jobs because of the arthritis? That would help his case a lot. SSA wants to see that you tried to keep working.

In my case (I have autoimmune arthritis), I applied shortly after I first got sick upon the advice of my docs but I was denied. Instead of fighting/appealing the decision, I moved to a warmer climate, changed jobs, and even went back to school to change careers. I held on for 15 years and managed to keep working in some capacity until the disease process became too advanced, I was struggling to make it through the day, I was missing 25 percent of my scheduled workdays, and I was out of options. I applied again for SSD and was approved in a couple of months.

My situation was probably a bit odd and extreme, lol, but I was a single mum who was absolutely determined to keep working somehow and I did, for as long as I could. I was too sick to fill out the SSD application so I went to the SSA office for help and they filled it out for me. They were most interested in my diagnoses, my job skills and experience, how many days of work I had missed because of my illness, and how I tried to modify my work duties. They wanted specifics on that.

It sounds as if John is afraid of failing at a new job. Understandable, but SSA won't think it is. He needs to try to work in a different capacity or be trained for something else. He may fail at it but he does have to try.

Good luck to y'all! And if he does decide to apply, set up an appointment at SSA for help. The application is long, taxing, and confusing if you're ill.