Disability Benefits: The Numbers Tell the Story
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: September 8, 2015
Social Security provides an economic lifeline to America’s workers through our benefit programs. We run the largest disability program in the nation. We want to make sure that everyone has a clear picture of the disability insurance program and of the people living with severe disabilities, who receive its benefits.
Because the Social Security Act sets out a strict definition of disability, our beneficiaries are among the most severely disabled people in the country. We provide modest benefit payments to workers who contributed into the Social Security trust fund before becoming disabled. The average disability beneficiary today paid into the disability trust fund for 22 years before becoming entitled to Social Security disability benefits.
When disability happens, Social Security provides support for insured workers and their families. For many disabled Americans, this earned benefit is the only thing standing between them and poverty.
To create awareness about the positive economic impact of our disability program, Social Security is releasing two new online data resources — our new state disability fact sheets and our national disability issue paper. These two online resources show how Social Security continues to fulfill our intergenerational promise of support to America’s workers and their families.
The state disability fact sheets include information by state and congressional district about disabled workers, children of insured workers, and spouses of insured workers who are receiving disability benefits. They also show the average annual disability benefit in relation to the poverty threshold, as well as more specific data about the recipients in those areas.
The national disability issue paper describes the fundamental principles of our disability program, its economic impact, and how it continues to live up to its founding ideals.
We invite you to go to our website and try these useful new resources.
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Tags: Disability, social security
See CommentsAbout the Author
Doug Walker, Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Deputy Commissioner, Office of Communications
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Jenny
I have been trying to get disability for years and yet to do so. My body continues to deteriorate and I have little if any medical proof due to having no insurance to cover doctors and testing needed. I have been checked by their doctors, but their ex-rays do not reveal my diagnosis. I am in the appeal process at this time and would like to ask what I could do in this process to show how deabilitating my diseases have become and will continue on? Please help me if you can, Thank you!
Linda
Hire an Attorney that specializes in SS disability. They shouldn’t require any money upfront but will receive a portion (approved by the approving Judge) of any back money owed to you.
Cosme
I am just glad I won’t be here when social security goes broke and it will in due time. That will be about 25 years from now.
FedUp
Not 25 years. It’s more like 10 to 12 years then social security will be finished along with U.S currency.
FedUp N.
I’ll have to admit, Fed Up, you don’t give up – at least in disparaging others who depend on SS benefits for their financial lifeline…
I am taking the liberty of pasting in an earlier comment to you, so the entire group will hopefully reflect on the sickness the nation has with people like yourself who are always complaining and do very little for others themselves. Here you are…
=============
How old are you, FedUp? You sound like someone who thinks (s)he’ll live forever. Get a grip.
At 67, I have lived on SS Retirement (not disability), which I have really needed since I was 63. At that point, I had already had 2 cancer surgeries for 2 separate cancers, at Houston’s MD Anderson. They both abruptly stopped my work and one of them nearly killed me at age 60 – all after 44 years working and contributing to the SS fund.
But I was lucky. I recovered from both by 62 and in 2010-11 I went on to Iraq on missions to help soldiers find the bad guys. Ever been to war, FedUp? I doubt it.
In any case, after returning at 63, I found out a had a bad ticker and was lucky to have not returned in a body bag somewhere in one of the 20 places I had to go, from the Syrian border to the Iranian border, and everywhere in-between.
FedUp, what I did helped SAVE soldiers’ lives, and what Social Security now does for me has saved MY life. I am very grateful to President Roosevelt for what he did, even though people like you want to scrap it all for some godawful private program.
FedUp, you definitely need to get out more and stop complaining about life and bureaucrats and people you don’t know. We all live on this planet, not just you. Like me, you will age, and you won’t live forever.
misery c.
Dear FedUp NOT!
Thank you so very much for your service to our country and I’m so glad you are able to deservedly live comfortably now.
God Bless…
Eileen
Good morning, I would like to see modifications to return to work initiatives. The current guidelines are far too restrictive. I know this topic is being debated by the US House Ways and Means Committee. I was in this system for 9 years, and was able to return to the workforce after extensive medical treatment, healing, and furthering my education. I consider myself to be very fortunate, and would like to see others get opportunities to move their lives forward without penalties. We need improved transition plans to employment so those who could return to work don’t get punished for trying.
cruiser9806
So tired. Need to quit and get disability. Kicked outta military after 10 tears on physical. with 10%. Had to go under Voc Rehab to get a job. Now, Spinal Fusion(Four screws and two plates holding up my spinal column . L1 through L4 herniated. VA wants to put a prothesis in each knee. But im still working….so tired.
shelley
I know a man who applied for disability in Ohio and was denied. He went to North Carolina and applied there because hos sister knew someone who worked at the social security office and got approved. Hisdisability was high blood pressure. Thats it. I know him and there is nothing wrong with him. This is so wrong
FedUp
The only fair thing to do is to cut the program entirely. Ignore all the sob stories and do what must be done. The program has been destroyed from severe mismanagement. Jail birds, dopers, dead beats, illegal aliens and more who didn’t pay into the system are allowed to rob it by those administering it. Lawyers have to be hired—driving administrative costs through the roof. As for social security the retirement fund let people have individual accounts(that can’t be meddled with). Ban the politicians from touching it. Disability will go broke next year—let it. Don’t fund it. People in America made it without all these welfare programs and they’ll do so again. Some will die but dying is part of the natural rhythm of life just like giving birth. Its part of the life cycle. Let the welfare state die of its own weight. Its out of control and its swallowed the entire budget. Every recipient has a sob story. The weak will be weeded out. People in America made before disability and they’ll make it again. No more welfare for parasitic illegals. The patient is dead no more money. The govt. is broke, no more I.O.U’s to give out. The welfare state has bankrupted America. No more!
Linda
Let something happen to you or a family member that causes (hopefully you) a severe disability then please feel free to tell “us” your “sob” story!
TruthSeieker
You are a total monster, and may you become sick through your own evilmindedness. You shall be shown no mercy at all come Judgement Day be ause you have no mercy for others, and are therefore a very bad person. You are also way too judgemental because you put everyone into one category, and life does not work that way. You sound just like a nazi. Are you?
Jamie M.
I’m 40 years old and I’m disabled. I’m married and have 4 children. I hired an attorney to help win my case because we had to go to hearing. what I don’t understand is why does my attorney get part of my kids back pay ? I understand the attorney getting part of my back pay but why my children’s back pay ? the attorney didn’t have to go and apply for my children’s back pay. some change to that needs to change. thank you.
R.F.
Good question Jamie. Social Security assumes than an attorney or an appointed representative will charge a fee when representing a claimant, unless the fee is waived. Under current law, when the Court issues a favorable decision, we withhold (up to) 25 percent of the claimant’s AND the claimant’s auxiliaries past-due benefits. The fee agreement you signed, also limits how much of a claimant’s past-due benefits an attorney can collect: No more than 25% of your past-due benefits and that includes any children in your account, but only up to a maximum of $6,000. We hope this information helps.
Jamie M.
thank you for your response. I do understand the fee agreement that I signed. but like I said Law makers or SSDI needs to make a change about that. My attorney received $4848.00 off my back pay. then my attorney received $978 off my kids back pay. so then my attorney sends me a bill for $174 because he didn’t get the full $6000.00
I’m just saying a change needs to be done about attorneys being allowed to get any of the auxiliaries benefits or any of the children’s back benefits. ITS NOT RIGHT AND THERE NEEDS TO BE A CHANGE IN THE LAW ABOUT THAT !
Jason F.
I’m going to be the mouth for the ones who cant speak.
They will continue to DETOUR me and your family our American rights untill we protest.
I say to you, the ones who were denied many times, you prayed to me for help, did i not help you, are you full, have not you become stuffed with envy and greed, did i not give you enough to feed others… – wont you share the light with others so that it may be shown?
im ooking to get sigs…will keep you posted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvZH88R9Qs0
samIam
Then do it yourself if you don’t want to pay someone for providing a service to you. You are allowed by law to represent yourself. Do you have a problem paying a mechanic to fix your car, or a roofer to replace your roof. Why do people have a difficult timing understanding that when someone provides a service they are performing a job for you and are entitled to be paid.
Jamie
Samlam , If you know how to read ? I said i didn’t have a problem paying the attorney for the work he did for me to help me get my disability benefits. He did his service for me and got paid for doing his service for ” ME” but I was the one who had to go to the Social Security Office and with all of my children’s information to get there benefits. The Attorney didn’t do that.
So Samlam shut your mouth and keep your comments to yourself and learn to read and it’s obvious you never went thru the process of filing for disability or even BEING DISABLED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE YOU!
CLEVELAND E.
To My Social Security I think God for you in and out the hardship from 2010 to 2015 the world kept changing and I became injured on the job I worked until I drop being played and lied to by company and lawyers a total of 28 month with no income worked in Baltimore for 44 years paid off because of Social Security Benefits and when I was laid on my back and couldn’t move I thought about programs like H A R P and U S A A if u use these programs with people 10 years before becoming the age of retirement in most cases this save them half of there income this means they could give $10 or &20 dollars back in to Social Security. that’s millions of dollars put back in to government and social security everybody wins .
Jason F.
I say to you, the ones who were denied many times, you prayed to me for help, did i not help you, are you full, have not you become stuffed with envy and greed, did i not give you enough to feed others…
Hospitals &.
RE: Health and Welfare. 10th Ed. Hospitals & Asylums HA-7-9-15 249 pgs. http://www.title24uscode.org/haw.doc
What a great labor day. My tenure on disability insurance is secure and my 41 years are up to the task of both OASDI Tables IV and OMB Table 4.1. It would make me happier for the Actuary to pass my Social Security Amendment of 2016 than to have to actually serve as the high paid Actuary and OMB Director myself. My buggy computer has no more non-fiction to contribute to SSA at this time. My Steve Jobs here is done. I realize this report is even longer than the usual length of SS Bulletin articles. The Act is short and sweet – the disabled pay the USPS, balance the federal budget, expand federal programs for the poor and consider paying 1% of a FICA tax to the UN in 2020 to have a hope of running a profitable government health insurance business limited to $1 trillion in expenditures a year. I am asking you this day to go straight to the first section of the book on Poverty and Social Security that explains every Actuarial Act that matters to social security. It shows the layman how to do the blanks in the DI trust fund table justice so that you, the reader, might sign in to the Actuarial debate regarding the bill facing the OASI trust fund whose Actuary hasn’t recalculated the OASDI tax rate since 2000. Because the tax rate calculation is so difficult the current Actuary is presumed to not be physically and mentally able to suddenly do the equation and is asked to swallow his pride and agree with HA mathematics to arrive at the same educated guess – the Social Security Amendment of 2016. To answer your questions I plan to remain obsessively-compulsed to respond to Social Security Matters blog until the tax evasion goes into effect on October 1, 2015 when I will unsubscribe from this electronic consortium that was not able to do God’s work. And as an afterthought for generation x, if we win I actually like participating in this blog and imagine it will be a less stressful intrusion in my work and could make me a better social worker. It seems wise that some social retreat accompany my need to recalculate for the total depletion of the DI Trust Fund – emergency tax rate of 2.4% for the remainder of calendar year 2016 to 2.3% in 2017 and 2.2% in 2018 when the sometimes DI sometime OASI paid “early retirees” will show what it means to convert from DI to OASI. The Social Security Amendment of 2016 needs to be passed now, before October 1, or the disability insurance trust fund is nearly certain to be depleted sometime in calendar year 2016.
Social Security Amendment of 2016
Free Disability Insurance Reallocation Tax (DIRT) Act
To immediately amend the DI tax rate from 1.80% to 2.30%, from 0.90% to 1.15% for employees and from 0.90% to 1.15% for employers under Sec. 201(b)(1)(S) of the Social Security Act 42USC(7)II§401 and amend the OASI tax rate from 10.60% to 10.10%, from 5.30% to 5.05% for employees under 26USC(C)(21)(A)§3101 (a) and from 5.30% to 5.05% for employers under 26USC(C)(21)(A)§3111 (a) to avoid depletion of the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund in 2016 without increasing the overall 12.4% OASDI or 15.3% OASDI and Hospital Insurance (HI) tax-rate under 26USC(A)(2)§1401 beginning October 1, 2015.
To amend the DI tax rate again in 2018 to 2.20% from 2.30%, from 1.15% to 1.10% for employees and from 1.15% to 1.10% for employers under Sec. 201(b)(1)(S) of the Social Security Act 42USC(7)II§401 and amend the OASI tax rate from 10.10% to 10.20%, from 5.05% to 5.10% for employees under 26USC(C)(21)(A)§3101 (a) and from 5.05% to 5.10% for employers under 26USC(C)(21)(A)§3111 (a) without increasing the overall 12.4% OASDI or 15.3% OASDI and Hospital Insurance (HI) tax-rate under 26USC(A)(2)§1401 to maximize efficiency until a deficit appears in the OASI Trust Fund in 2019.
Without Income Limit Law (WILL) Act
To abolish the maximum taxable limit on DI contributions on January 1, 2016 and OASI contributions January 1, 2017 and repeal Adjustment of the contribution and benefit base Section 230 of the Social Security Act 42USC(7)§430.
To require the Social Security Administration to pay for SSI Costs beginning January 1, 2017.
To share profits in excess of social security program costs to the general fund of the U.S Treasury on a sliding scale beginning year end 2016 DI 50/50 with the USPS, and OASI 10/90 to eliminate the federal budget deficit. In 2020 OASI would share at negotiated rates an estimated 25/75, by 2025 OASDI would share 50/50 and by 2030 OASDI would save to pay for the peak in costs of Baby Boomer generation in 2035 that might raise the overall OASDI tax rate from 12.4%.
Thomas L.
I would like to say THANK YOU very Much!
william g.
my comment is I don’t like the social sicuirity ad ministration don’t help me with my problem the doctor know I have mental illness depression disorder I don’t have control my self some time I fight with the people very hard some time they want hurt me I have court 17 September I Rockville MD I want told that social security the other thing the polices officer discriminate me with my birth date him put 06/20/1988 that is not right my birth date is 06/20/1968 he get my driver licenses I don’t know why he did that let me know you can help me thank