Higher Rates of Disability Applications Before Retirement? A likely Outlook

The decline of pensions and Social Security Retirement now being “pushed back” is creating a liability or a likely outlook that Social Security Disability applications will be on the rise.

For example, individuals born after 1959 will now have to wait until age 67 to receive full benefits from Social Security. Many people believe Social Security will get them through their retirement years. But a growing body of evidence indicates that Social Security Retirement may not be enough and may be delayed even further in the next decade.  Even then, Social Security may not be able to meet your needs. In aggregate, the Social Security Retirment benefits paid to current retirees replaces only 37% of their pre-retirement income.1 And the higher your compensation, the smaller the percentage of pre-retirement income that will be replaced by Social Security Retirement.

What one can do now is take a look at your Social Security Statement, which you should have received in the mail or can be requested from Social Security. Look at the Statement and find out what your payment amounts will be if disabled, retired, etc. In other words, plan for your financial future or at least take notice of the amounts Social Security will pay. Often, claimants are shocked to find out how small the payout will be for disability and/or retirement.

1 Data Source: www.ssa.gov. “Fast Facts and Figures About
Social Security, 2008