The Social Security Administration is responsible for collecting data pertaining to its programs and beneficiaries. The SSA recently released data for November 2017 indicating that beneficiaries of social security had reached an all time high, with a total of 61,859,250 individuals receiving some form of social security benefits.
Social Security benefits can take various forms including retirement benefits and disability benefits. An individual may qualify for disability benefits at any age provided that they meet certain requirements, and the amount that they receive for disability benefits will be based on a system of work credits taking into account the number of years that they spent working prior to being disabled.
The data collected by the SSA included both of these primary categories, those receiving old age insurance benefits and those receiving disability insurance benefits. Those receiving disability benefits made up about 10,500,000 of the total beneficiaries. The average amount received by those on SSDI was $1, 038.73.
Of the roughly 10.5 million receiving disability related benefits, about 8.8 million were disabled workers. The remaining 1.7 million, then, were children – about 1.6 million – and spouses, who made up the remaining 125,000.
Clearly, the Social Security Disability program is vital to a large amount of Americans, including many people in Missouri. Despite this, obtaining these much needed benefits can sometimes be difficult due to the application process, and if necessary, an appeal. For this reason, working with an attorney experienced with Social Security Disability claims can help those in need navigate the system to obtain the funds so desperately needed.
