Most people don’t really think about disabilities, because most think it won’t happen to them. However, the chances of being disabled are much higher than people realize. Recent studies show that a 20-year old worker has three chances out of ten of being disabled before reaching retirement age.
Given the risk, disability benefits programs have been established to give assistance to people who are temporarily or permanently unable to work due to disabilities.
The two disability programs administered by the Social Security Administration are the Social Security Disability Insurance and the Social Security Income (SSI) disability benefits programs.
Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are given to a person (or person’s family) who:
- Worked in jobs covered by Social Security
- Has a medical condition that meets the Social Security Administration’s definition of disability
Pay benefits are usually given once a month to people unable to work for at least a year. These disability benefits continue until the person is able to resume working. If the person receives disability benefits until retirement age, the disability benefits automatically become retirement benefits.
SSI disability benefits, on the other hand, are given based on financial need. It’s goal is to help the aged, blind and disabled people who have little or no income to cover their basic needs. These include food, clothing and shelter. As a federal income supplement program, SSI disability benefits are funded by general tax revenues, rather than social security taxes.
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