As we reported in our previous blog, there is ongoing debate about how to solve the looming Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) funding crisis among our elected officials in Washington.
Interestingly, many conservative leaders claim that the program is near insolvency because of a skyrocketing number of people collecting benefits. However, after statistics were released last week regarding the number of people receiving benefits in 2014, this argument may need to be put to rest.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the number of people receiving SSDI benefits last year declined for the first time since 1983. The newspaper reported that the number is attributed largely to economic and demographic changes.
“As Washington prepares for a confrontation on the [funding] issue, agency data show the number of beneficiaries fell by half a percent in 2014 to 10.9 million. The number of new applicants, meanwhile, dropped 14 percent from 2010,” the Sun reported. The newspaper said that these statistics could quiet criticisms about the growing number of people collecting benefits.
It should be noted that the number of people receiving benefits did grow from 2002 to 2012 by nearly 3.7 million people. However, many financial experts said this was due to the number of Baby Boomers and women who were now becoming eligible for benefits.
“The disability applications we have coming in now are even lower than we were assuming,” Stephen C. Goss, the chief actuary at the Social Security Administration, said according to the Sun. “We feel pretty confident about saying that, in the future, we’re going to have essentially stable growth.”
I Am Disabled and Need Help Seeking SSDI Benefits
If you are truly disabled, just because the number of people receiving benefits has decreased does not mean that you should not seek SSDI. If you live in the Tulsa-area and you are disabled, working with an attorney may help improve the likelihood that you will receive benefits.
Remember, for a person to qualify for SSDI benefits, a determination for eligibility is based on work history. The SSA has two different gauges by which to evaluate your work history. The first test is the “Duration of Work Test,” while the second test is the “Recent Work Test.”
For more information about this process, visit our Social Security FAQ page.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security Disability lawyers
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