As we have previously reported, the Social Security Administration has issued a trustee report indicating that its disability fund will have just $90.4 billion in reserves at the end of 2014, meaning by the end of 2016, the reserves could be depleted.
Many economists are wondering what Congress will do about this issue. According to the Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has suggested that the House should “reallocate” payroll tax revenue to divert more money to support the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) trust fund.
SSDI gets its funding from payroll taxes that workers and employers pay. The payroll tax is currently 6.2 percent for Social Security, with 5.3 percent going to retiree benefits and .9 percent going towards SSDI.
Lew has pointed out that income should be diverted to the disability fund, because the retiree fund is on more solid footing, according to the Journal.
“In the past when we’ve had a situation like this, the measure taken in the short term at least to deal with it was to do a reallocation of the payroll tax to support the disability fund,” Lew said, according to the Journal. “I think if you look from now until 2016, there is probably no other alternative which could produce the desired results between now and then. So I think it’s going to be important for there to be legislation that does reallocate the payroll tax to support the disability fund.”
How Can I Collect SSDI?
As we keep reporting, it is our hope that Congress will do something to ease these funding concerns. It is our hope that the ongoing debate that has swept up Washington over funding will help shed a new light on the issue.
Remember, the SSA determines if a person is eligible for SSDI benefits through an initial application, which briefly explains why a person believes that he or she is disabled. A person must be able to prove that he or she cannot work to qualify for benefits.
If you have questions about applying for SSDI, call us today or visit our FAQ page. Do not hesitate to contact our Tulsa Social Security Disability lawyers for a free evaluation of your case if you need counsel for a SSDI application.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security Disability lawyers
Troutman Touts: About $140 billion in SSDI benefits were awarded in 2013.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/07/28/lew-supports-funding-change-for-disability-program/
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