Principal Attorney
The federal government managed Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program pays monthly benefits in the form of cash or paycheck to eligible people in the US workforce who are unable to go to work because of a critical disease or a chronic illness that is expected to last longer than a year or cause death within the year. It is a piece of the Social Security program that additionally pays retirement benefits to by far most of more established Americans. Benefits depend on the clinically ill worker’s past work credits and are paid to the disabled worker and to his or her needy survivors. To be qualified, an incapacitated worker is more likely required than not worked in occupations secured by Social Security.
How Much Is the Disability Benefit?
The disability benefit is linked through a formula to a worker’s earnings before he or she became disabled. The benefits are calculated through the AIME formula.
The SSDI amount paid to SSDI recipients vary between $800 and $1800. The average monthly SSDI income in 2019 is $1234 for blind and $1980 for non-blind.
Who Pays for Disability Insurance Benefits?
Workers and employers pay for the SSDI program with part of their Social Security taxes. Workers and employers each pay a Social Security tax that is 6.2 percent of workers’ earnings up to a cap of $132,900 in 2019. The cap is adjusted each year to keep pace with average wages. Of the 6.2 percent, 5.015 percent goes to pay for Social Security retirement and survivor benefits and 1.185 percent pays for disability insurance. The combined tax paid by workers and employers for disability insurance is 2.37 percent of wages, while the combined tax for retirement and survivor benefits is 10.03 percent, for a total of 12.4 percent.
Attributes of Disabled-Worker Beneficiaries
Disabled-worker beneficiaries are at risk of being poor or near poor. About 30 percent of disabled workers, compared to 15 percent of all working-age adults, have incomes below 125 percent of the poverty threshold. Moreover, 82 percent of SSDI beneficiaries rely on Social Security for more than half their income, and 37 percent of disabled worker beneficiaries rely on these benefits for all of their income.
SSDI recipients are also more likely to be older, with the average age of beneficiaries at 54 in 2019. Three out of four (74 percent) are over 50 years old and a third (34 percent) are over 60 years old.
When comparing with other adults, disabled workers are more likely to be black, and to have a lower level of educational attainment; almost half have a high school diploma or less.
What are the common disabilities of SSDI recipients?
- musculoskeletal problems, such as back injuries
- cardiovascular conditions, such as heart failure or coronary artery disease
- senses and speech issues, such as vision and hearing loss
- respiratory illnesses, such as COPD or asthma
- neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy
- mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, autism, or retardation
- immune system disorders, such as HIV/AIDS, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis
- various syndromes, such as Sjogren’s Syndrome and Marfan Syndrome
- skin disorders, such as dermatitis
- digestive tract problems, such as liver disease or IBD
- kidney disease and genitourinary problems, and
- cancer
- hematological disorders, such as hemolytic anemias and disorders of bone marrow failure
With all said there is no blinking the fact that the SSDI pays around 8.5 million Americans in disability benefits each year. However, still the US’s spending on disability benefits is relatively modest as compared to a 1.3% of Germany, 2.5% of Sweden and 2.8% of Netherlands, the US spends only 1.4%.
If you need more details or help in filing your social security disability, you may contact us.
