Amidst all the talk of cutbacks in government spending, it should be reassuring for disabled Americans that there appears to be a lot of support for disability benefits in Congress. The chairman of the subcommittee on Social Security is Congressman Sam Johnson, a Republican from Texas. His subcommittee falls under the House Ways and Means Committee, one of the more powerful committees in Congress, as it controls taxation and all other programs that raise revenue.
Last week Johnson held hearings on ensuring the solvency of disability benefits. His comments were supportive of how important the benefits are for disabled workers. Johnson said that “Disabilities have a devastating effect on individuals and their families, and Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) benefits provide important income security that they rely on.”
The goal of the hearings was to start thinking about the financial problems the program will face in the next seven years or so. The numbers behind disability benefits reveal both the help they provide families and the financial troubles ahead:
- Disability benefits average about $1,070 a month
- Almost half of SSDI beneficiaries rely on those benefits for most of their family’s income
- Most SSDI beneficiaries can begin receiving Medicare after two years
- This past September, families received nearly $10 billion in disability benefits
- Between 1970 and 2009, the number of disability beneficiaries jumped from 2.7 million to 9.7 million
- SSDI costs grew from $18 billion to $124 billion during the same 29 years
How much do disability benefits mean to you and your family? Do they comprise the majority of your income?
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security disability lawyers
