How is it that more people now qualify for Social Security Disability than ever before?

Favorite Answer

Can you say liberals?...Show more

Two reasons I can think of that actually make some sense.
There are fewer union workers who keep contractors honest and safe in their working conditions, someone without union protection isn't going to complain when the boss takes shortcuts on safety.
And that leads to more, and more serious accidents.
And people who were inclined to try and work through the pain don't go when it starts and so do more damage to themselves, damage that would be permanent instead of temporary, they might be afraid of losing their jobs if they take time off, or they might not have insurance and don't want to run up the bills. Like a lot of things if you take care of it when its small, it won't get bigger, but if you ignore it you can end up in lots of trouble.
SS disability is notoriously difficult to get on, you almost always need a lawyer and about a year, and you only get about six or seven hundred a month, sometimes less.

Blaming this on liberals is asinine....Show more

1. The population itself increases.

2. The Baby Boomers are aging and as people age they usually encounter health problems - many of which are disabling or are soon to become disabling. Good thing there is no such thing as a disability benefit when someone reaches full retirement age which is 66 at the current time but will rise to age 67 eventually.

3. There were probably many, many people who were once employed who had serious health problems but managed to work anyway in spite of them. Then they were let go. Those who were 50 years old or older were unable to find employment and because of their health problems they decided to file for disability benefits. They were approved because social security takes into account a person's age, education and previous work experience in addition to their medical condition. Older people with health problems find it even more difficult to work and to find work than older people without health problems. Therefore, many people met the requirements for disability who, had they not been let go by their employers, would still be working in their old jobs. I suspect a lot of these people were let go because of their health issues but were given other reasons.

4. There are many children of poor parents who are entitled to SSI benefits before the age of 18 who are determined to be disabled but who will not be entitled to disability benefits once they reach the age of 18. The definition of disability for a child isn't the same as that for an adult. It is more difficult to become entitled as an adult....Show more

Hmmm....an article from Newsmax which provides as its source ANOTHER Right wing website? You will have to do MUCH better if you want to be taken seriously.

If you check that past 10 years or so, the figure has been rising by about 250k/yr for the past decade. As usual the Wingnuts attempt to use creative framing of the facts....Show more

It's probably partly due to population increase and partly due to the demographic shift caused by the Baby Boomers aging en masse....Show more