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Interesting facts and Statistics About Social Security Disability and SSI
Below are some facts and statistics released by Social Security. This page is for those who like to know the big picture.
Maximum Social Security benefit for worker retiring at full benefit age is $2,053 for 2006. All Beneficiaries, December 2005About 53 million people received a payment from Social
Security. Most (45.9 million) received OASDI benefits only, about 4.6 million received SSI only, and 2.5 million
received payments from both programs. Disabled Beneficiaries Aged 18–64, December 2005Payments were made to 10.1 million people aged 18–64 on the basis of their own disability. Fifty-nine percent received disability payments from the OASDI (Old Age Survivor and Disability Insurance) program only, 28% received payments from the SSI (Supplemental Security Income) program only, and 13% received payments from both programs. New Benefit Awards, 2005Benefits were awarded to nearly 4.7 million persons: of those, 43% were retired workers and 18% were disabled workers. The remaining 39% were survivors or the spouses and children of retired or disabled workers. These awards represent not only new entrants to the benefit rolls but also persons already on the rolls who become entitled to a different benefit, particularly conversions of disabled-worker benefits to retired-worker benefits at full retirement age. Beneficiaries in Current-Payment Status, December 2005More than 48 million beneficiaries were
in current-payment status, that is, they were being paid a benefit. Sixty-three percent of those beneficiaries were retired
workers and 13% were disabled workers. The remaining 24% were survivors or the spouses and children of retired or disabled
workers. Beneficiaries, by Age, December 2005About four-fifths of all OASDI beneficiaries
in current-payment status were aged 62 or older, including 25 percent aged 75–84
and 9 percent aged 85 or older. About 14 percent were persons aged 18–61
receiving benefits as disabled workers, survivors, or dependents. Another 6 percent were children under age 18. Disabled and Retired Workers, by Age, 1960–2005The average age of disabled-worker beneficiaries in current-payment status has declined substantially since 1960, when DI benefits first became available to persons younger than age 50. In that year, the average age of a disabled worker was 57.2 years. The rapid drop in average age in the following years reflects a growing number of awards to workers under 50. By 1995, the average age had fallen to a low of 49.8, and by 2005, it had risen slightly, to 51.8. In contrast, the average age of retired workers has changed little over time, rising from 72.4 in 1960 to 73.9 in 2005. Beneficiaries, by Sex, December 2005Of all adults receiving
monthly Social Security benefits, 44% were men and 56% were women. Seventy-nine percent of the men and 58% of the women received
retired-worker benefits. About one-fifth of the women received survivor benefits. How Social Security Is FinancedSocial Security is largely a pay-as-you-go program. Most of the payroll taxes collected from today's workers are used to pay benefits to today's recipients. In 2005, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds collected $702 billion in revenues. Of that amount, 84% was derived from payroll taxes and 2% from income taxes on Social Security benefits. Interest earned on the government bonds held by the trust funds provided the remaining 13% of income. Assets increased in 2005 because income exceeded expenditures for benefit payments and administrative expenses. Supplemental Security Income or SSI Statistics and Facts
Number of Recipients, 1974–2005The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides income support to needy persons aged 65 or older, blind or disabled adults, and blind or disabled children. Eligibility requirements and federal payment standards are nationally uniform. SSI replaced the former federal/state adult assistance programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Payments under SSI began in January 1974, with 3.2 million persons receiving federally administered payments. By December 1974, this number had risen to nearly 4 million and remained at about that level until the mid-1980s, then rose steadily, reaching nearly 6 million in 1993 and 7 million by the end of 2004. As of December 2005, the number of recipients stood at 7.1 million. Of this total, 4.1 million were between the ages of 18 and 64, 2 million were aged 65 or older, and 1 million were under age 18.Payment Amounts, by Age, December 2005The
average federally administered SSI payment was $439. Payments varied by age group, ranging from an average of $523 for recipients
under 18 to $362 for those 65 or older. The maximum federal benefit rate in December 2005 was $579 for an individual,
$869 for a couple, plus any applicable state supplementation. Federally Administered Payments, December 2005A total of 7.1 million persons received federally administered SSI payments. The majority received federal
SSI only. States have the option of supplementing the federal benefit rate and are required to do so if that rate is less
than the income the recipient would have had under the former state program. Basis for Eligibility and Age of Recipients, December 2005Seventeen percent of SSI recipients received benefits on the basis of age, the
rest on the basis of disability. Twenty-eight percent of the recipients were aged 65 or older. In the SSI program—unlike
the OASDI program—a disabled recipient is still classified as "disabled" after reaching full retirement age.
DI beneficiaries are converted to the retirement program when they attain full retirement age.
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