Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2003
On this page:
- Contact Information
- Accessibility and Usability Information
- Highlights 2003
- Preface
- Notes
- Table of Contents
- Other Editions of this Publication
Contact Information
Your comments and suggestions on this report are welcome and should be directed to Kevin Kulzer at
Accessibility and Usability Information
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Highlights 2003
Size and Scope of the Social Security Disability Program
- Disability benefits were paid to over 6.8 million people.
- Awards to disabled workers (755,706) accounted for about 91 percent of awards to all disabled beneficiaries (829,831).
- Payments to disabled beneficiaries totaled about $66 billion.
- Benefits were terminated for about 447,485 disabled workers.
- Supplemental Security Income payments were another source of income for about 1 out of 6 disabled beneficiaries.
Profile of Disabled-Worker Beneficiaries
- Workers accounted for the largest share of disabled beneficiaries (86 percent).
- Average age was about 51.
- Men represented about 55 percent.
- Mental disorders was the diagnosis for about a third.
- Average monthly benefit received was $862.
- Supplemental Security Income payments were another source of income for about 1 out of 7.
Preface
Since 1956, the Social Security program has provided cash benefits to people with disabilities. This annual report provides program and demographic information about the people who receive those benefits. The basic topics covered are
- beneficiaries in current-payment status;
- benefits awarded, withheld, and terminated;
- disabled workers who have returned to work;
- outcomes of applications for disability benefits;
- geographic distribution of beneficiaries;
- disabled beneficiaries receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or both; and
- income of disabled beneficiaries.
This edition includes three new tables. One provides state distributions for blind or deaf beneficiaries; one provides the average monthly benefit by diagnostic group and age for disabled workers who work; and the third provides a distribution by diagnosis for beneficiaries who are receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or both types of benefits.
Most of the data are from the Social Security Administration's program records. Information on the income of disabled beneficiaries was obtained from the 2001 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation The panel data were linked to information from the agency's December 2001 program records. In future editions, we plan to add more information about the incidence of disability, reinstatement of benefits, workers' compensation and public disability benefit offset, and continuing disability reviews.
Kevin Kulzer compiled this report for publication. Paul Davies, Carolyn A. Harrison, Thuy Ho, Art Kahn, Melissa Koenig, Kevin Kulzer, and Clark Pickett wrote the programs to process the data and produce the statistical tables. Linda Martin managed the project, wrote data specifications, and validated the data. Emil Loomis designed the cover, Sherry Snyder and Anthony Nathe edited the report, Kathryn Winstead produced the print publication, and Laurie Brown prepared the electronic versions for the Web.
Associate Commissioner for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics
August 2004
Notes
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) program provides benefits to retired workers and their dependent family members and to survivors of deceased workers. The Disability Insurance (DI) program provides benefits to disabled workers, their spouses, and children (whether or not disabled).
Benefits are paid from the OASI and DI trust funds. However, not all disabled beneficiaries are paid from the DI trust fund. All disabled
Numbers presented in these tables may differ slightly from other published statistics because all tables, except those using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, are based on 100 percent data files. In addition, the definition of an award now includes secondary benefit awards, subsequent periods of disability, conversions from one class of child's benefit to another, and it excludes reinstated benefits. These changes resulted in a slight increase in the award counts beginning with 2001 compared with earlier years.
All years are calendar years unless otherwise specified.
Table of Contents
The following files are available for this document in the given formats:
- History of the Social Security Disability Insurance Program
- Definition of Disability
- Types of Benefits Available
- Initial Disability Decisionmaking Process
- Appeals Process
- Benefit Calculations
- Benefits Offset and Withheld
- Work Incentives
- Benefit Termination
- Chart 1. All Social Security disabled beneficiaries in current-payment status, December 2003
- Chart 2. All Social Security disabled beneficiaries in current-payment status, December
1970–2003 - Chart 3. Disabled beneficiaries aged
18–64 in current-payment status as a percentage of state population aged18–64 , December 2003 - Chart 4. Age of disabled-worker beneficiaries in current-payment status, by sex, December 2003
- Chart 5. Average monthly benefit of disabled beneficiaries in current-payment status, by sex, December 2003
- Chart 6. Disabled beneficiaries in current-payment status, by diagnostic group, December 2003
- Chart 7. Social Security disability awards,
1980–2003 - Chart 8. Average monthly benefit awards, by sex, 2003
- Chart 9. Disabled-worker awards, by selected diagnostic group, 2003
- Chart 10. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications,
1992–2001 - Chart 11. Social Security and SSI beneficiaries receiving benefits on the basis of disability, December 2003
- Chart 12. Educational level of disabled-worker beneficiaries, December 2001
- Chart 13. Sources of disabled-worker family income, December 2001
To access individual tables, please use the expanded table of contents.
Other Editions of this Publication
Next Expected Update
August 2005
Other Editions
- Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2003 (released August 2004)
- Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2002 (released August 2003)
- Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2001 (released September 2002)
- Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2000 (released September 2001)