The Wall Street Journal reported last week that most Americans who run out of unemployment benefits do not start collecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, dispelling the notion that SSDI rolls have increased as a result of economic conditions.
According to the WSJ, research done by the University of California- Berkeley shows that since the offset of the current recession, people who have used up the standard 26 weeks of unemployment provided by state governments have not moved on to collecting SSDI benefits.
“When the unemployment rate started rising in 2008 and 2009, the government extended unemployment benefits, leading to a drop in the number of people exhausting their payments. Yet the number of people filing for disability kept on rising,” the WSJ reported. “In more recent years, the government has cut back unemployment benefits, leading to an increase in expirations, but the number of disability applications has remained flat or even slowed.”
We have been blogging recently about the rise in false accusations made against the Social Security Administration and SSDI recipients. Most experts agree that the number of people receiving SSDI benefits has increased as our population has aged. In order to qualify for SSDI, a person must prove that he or she has significant disabilities. In fact, many people receiving SSDI benefits are terminally ill, as about 1 in 5 male beneficiaries and 1 in 7 female beneficiaries die within 5 years of receiving benefits.
If you have questions about applying for disability benefits, contact a Tulsa Social Security Disability attorney. We offer free evaluations of your case, and you may reach us by phone at (918) 265-1404. Contact us today to learn more about your rights.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security Disability attorneys
Troutman Touts: In order to obtain SSDI benefits, a person may be required to schedule a consultative examination with a doctor.
