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
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Doug Walker, Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Deputy Commissioner, Office of Communications
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matt l.
My name is matt lily I live in Canada
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JJ
The program is broken. I have a severe disorder called Central Pain Syndrome. It is fairly rare and an Intractable illness. There are no known cures and what treatments there are are extremely limited. This neurological disorder causes extreme pain throughout my body every second of every day and will continue until I die. It has negatively impacted my cardio vascular system as well so now I risk stroke. I’m only 40 years old. I have been denied twice now and will be going to hearing, but it is supposed to be 18 months away. This program is a joke. I was a police officer at one time and dealt with all kinds of people on ssdi who are not in the same galaxy as to level of impairment compared to me. In my pain support group, where many are on SSDI, I’m by far the sickest one. Yet, I cannot get a human being to take or SSDI Doc to take the 20 minutes to learn what my condition entails. The burning sensation makes it feel like a real hell on earth. For those like myself who have our full body impacted, it is near universally disabling. I read the website and one of the “meet those with disabilities” and the raw raw we are here for you, has CRPS in an arm. I’d take that any day and twice o Sunday. Those symptoms are just one of dozens I get. Please explain to me how any of this makes sense? The case workers will not give me a reason why I’m denied, nor is it stated in my denial letter. The closest thing I’ve had is being told “regulations” ad it’s to bad you have something rare. For the love of god, get it together so someone else doing everything they can just to stay alive, doesn’t have to deal with this lunacy!
Janet
I’m sorry to hear that you are suffering, but I just wanted to know how you can think your pain is just so much worse than others. I have suffered with RSD and Fibromyalgia for over 20 years.
If you’ve ever saw the McGill pain chart, RSD is at the very top. Unless you have it, there is no way you can say you’re worse than anyone else. That’s just insane.
I hope you have found some relief.
Zithromax
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savannah m.
Social security and disability benefits need to get a dramatic increase, not a decrease! I don’t understand how this government expects my mom to live off of $750.00 a month?!?! She would try to get a job but she can’t stand for long period of times due to the steel plates in her legs, and most places wont hire her because she is getting older. She has applied for low income housing but has been on a waiting list that is for another two plus years! There needs to be something done for people who get next to nothing in disability and social security benefits.
KER
I find it interesting that the majority of comments are people whining about others they feel are undeserving of benefits.
When my application was denied, I fought for my benefits. My lawyers told me my medical files were the largest they had ever seen for someone who wasn’t a veteran (because the VA documentation is massive), because I had been so busy for several years caring for my dying mother, I hadn’t really gone to the doctor for my own deteriorating health during the 2+ years of her illness.
What other people did, or didn’t, get was never my concern. My concern was just getting the government to see my health the same way my doctors did. The SSA isn’t lying when they say their standards are strict. I have a background in both legal research and health insurance regulation, so I read their laws for myself. The threshold for receiving benefits is crazy hard. Those people who are commenting on other people’s lack of health problems, I wonder if you all know exactly what those people are battling? Because you all kind of sound like the people who judge who isn’t worthy of a disabled parking designation, just by looking at someone. Most people have problems they don’t advertise. One of my medical conditions is chronic pain, which is invisible to everyone, including myself, but it’s absolutely miserable. And it’s not even one of my disabling conditions!
But my point is this: ever hear of the Serenity Prayer? “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” If all you’re doing is worrying about what other people have, when do you have the time or energy to fight for yourself? If you believe someone you know is cheating the system, have the guts to report them! If you can’t change the situation, then move on to something you *can* change. My first lawyer messed up my SSDI filing, and by the time I caught their mistake, all my work credits were gone. All my years of working 2 or 3 jobs at the same time meant nothing, I had to file for SSI, which is well below poverty level. If it wasn’t for inheriting a small house, worth all of $7,000 – no kidding – from my mom, the house her parents bought in 1941 when they got married, I don’t know how I’d put a roof over my head; and for still having my dad, who, at 75, still works on my 13 year old vehicle and my 96 year old house, I would not still be alive. I count my blessings, and that keeps me too busy to care what others have, or don’t. It just doesn’t affect me. Losing my sister, that affected me. Whoever else has their own reasons for receiving SSI, doesn’t affect me. And it doesn’t affect most, if not all, of the rest of you, either. I’ve corresponded with a former Reagan and Bush financial advisor, and he’s assured me that what we’re told in the media about Social Security being in jeopardy is either bunk, or misleading. And I’m not even a Republican, I just respect his knowledge. At least we have Social Security – before it was enacted, people either had to work til they died, live with adult children in their old age, or rely on a church for welfare. I am a historian, I’ve studied that. Count your blessings, don’t worry about things over which you have no control.
Jeremy
I have the same issue going on. I was denied disability because I am not disabled enough to be prevented from working an office job. I have been a truck driver most of my life and that is all I know how to do. I can’t get an office job. I now have to go back to work as a truck driver in severe pain. I had to lie to the companies hiring me, because you can’t drive trucks while on narcotic pain medication. I hope I never get into an accident because I am in pain and it is hard to concentrate. There are people who have anxiety and get benefits for that. I have severe pain and blood clots and got turned down. The system it too strict.
The problem is that a lot of weak cases that cannot pass based on the medical evidence/documentation alone are granted during the hearing process. Also, a lot of meritorious cases with mountains of medical documentation are denied by biased judges who refuse to recognize legitimate cases.
So, in my particular area of the country. One judge grants 70 percent of all cases that come before him, while another judge barely awards disability to 36 percent of the cases that come before him. It’s the judges who grant most of these cases, and they can grant benefits to whoever they want to, because they have no supervisors to answer to.
That is how someone with a bogus mental health claim can get benefits, while another person with terminal cancer will die before they even see their benefits. The judges never follow the rules. They can work around the rules to either deny or approve a claim.
I knew I was going to be denied from the first second I saw the judge who ruled over my case. He was very adversarial with me and basically treated me like a lying scum bag. But, if I would have gotten a different judge, I would have been awarded my benefits.
It’s all a lottery. You win by luck. That is how it is. That is why if I ever go back to work again, I will never pay a dime into the system ever again. It’s a waste of money.
Jeremy
On cases where the SSA’s consultative examiner sides against your doctor that you are not disabled, the judge cites the CE’s report as the reason why you’re case be being denied. Their own CE said that I was disabled and could no longer work, but the judge said that he did not add any weight to the CE’s report, because the CE had only seen me one time.
Judges can say that your doctor is not credible when they say you’re disabled. They can say that your doctor only wrote down what you wanted them to write down. So, even if you have a perfectly documented case, the judge can still deny your claim if they are bias.
You really can’t win unless you get lucky, or you get a lenient judge. Some judge will not grand cases to people who are under 40 years of age no matter how strong your case is. Why do younger people have to fight harder to win a case?
Donald M.
Thank you for your post! This tutorial is fabulous! Lots of great info including, Disability Insurance provides security for individuals if you are unable to work because of sickness or accidents. Preparing for a disability means that you you have to buy disability insurance to protect the loss of income.
madison
iam 21 years old currently living with my mom and dad and im disabled with a heart condition and digeorge syndrome and i have had heart surgeries in the past along with a spine surgery this year which is what is causing me not able to work now i can not even drive. they are only paying me 400$ a month for food and other things but each shopping trip takes like half of that. i can not live off of this. i wanted to see why iam not getting more i mean i am GREATFUL! to recieve it at my age but i can not work its driving me nuts not able to have money to do things i wanna do. i had surgery on my spine it was pretty major i have a collapsed long as well. it makes it hard to pay payments on medical bills and to pay off my temperpedic bed. i wanted to ask why this is that i dont get more then what i get. im also dealing with spine pain this is everyday i hurt so bad from this surgery im 9 months of recovery im still in tons of pain which is hard to do daily acitivities if you have any suggestions on what i can do to ask them why its such a low ammount on what my story is now i dont understand mom and i are going to call our ssi case and have them re evaluate it because it doesnt feel right to me, well i wish every one a good day im never gonna live on my own unless they up the payment this is my ultamite goal ~
Sandra J.
Hi I am Sandy, My question. I was awarded ssdi as of March 26 2015. But ssi paid me some money way below what is owed to me for ssdi. ssi only paid me like 488.month.Way lower than the 831.00 for all the months the judge granted. So where does that leave me with my back pay I am ready getting my ssdi started 7/1/2016. Do ssi have to pay ssdi the money difference I get the run a round. Please I hope you can give me the answers I need, Thank you
R.F.
Hi Sandra. Unfortunately, your questions is a bit more complex than we can handle in this forum. For your security, we do not have access to information about your account in this venue. Please continue working with your local office on specific information about your case. Thanks!
Jason F.
there was a lady named celina ham here who’s sons heart was double the normal size and could not receive disability. He was a vet coming home i think and was told by the Disability board that he could do a desk job. After failing to land a desk job he decided to do only what he knew like any human did and went back to roustabout. HE DIED. Will that also happen to me when my stink becomes blocked or works improperly while im back digging ditches, because my conditions dont fall under there mutherfucking guldlines. I say this to you and any ssi worker who types some robot answer to this. I WILL BE THE MLK OF THIS. NOT A star but a face to uncover the secert they are hlding from us. PLEASE SHARE AND WATCH THIS. i am not here to promote anything but the truth and you will know the light.
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvZH88R9Qs0
Jason F.
CORRECTION::/// MY STINT BECOMES BLOCKED
painful d.
Chronic pain 11 surgeries including knee replacement tendon release in shoulder recent SI joint fusion on back 3 additional bulging discs an ankle that only needs one more good sprain to tear the ligament and only 45 . Not to mention diabetic and and the burning stabbing pain from diabetic neuropathy working 3 jobs to survive and no insurance and only 45 yrs old who refuses to even try for SSDI for fear of being denied and living on nothing for the rest of my life or losing what financial means I do have !!! So to all those who are receiving benefits that really deserve them !!! Good for you , for all those who are receiving benefits , you all know who you are and don’t need them !!! Shame on you.