In 2005, the SSDI fund began to dish out more money than it was bringing in via tax receipts. That trend has continued each year – plus the number of Social Security beneficiaries grew by 489,488 in 2010, the highest one-year increase in history. According to the Wall Street Journal, SSDI can be empty in 7 years or fewer. Article source – Social Security Disability Insurance may go dry in 4 years by MoneyBlogNewz.
Social Security will spend $22 billion more than it makes
Social Security could have spent $153 billion in benefits by 2015. That’s $22 billion more than it is anticipated to take in, underscoring a problem that many Americans will soon face. With no changes at all, the Social Security retirement fund will last until about 2040 (and Medicare until 2029). Federal intervention can be required to keep SSDI alive for more than 7 years, say government auditors.
Applicants more than Social Security can manage
Because of the recession, more individuals have wanted Social Security. They have been applying like crazy. There has been a huge increase in the last decade of the number of people getting Social Security. This number increased to 10.2 million people from 6.6 million. The SSDI funds are needed by lots of states and territories the United States owns. In the last 10 years, there has been an 85 percent increase in Texas enrollment while, at the same time, New Hampshire has had a 69 percent growth. West Virginia gets more Social Security Disability Insurance than any other state when considering the percentage of total population.
The cause that many suspect is the manual labor related health difficulties that many states with manufacturing and agriculture are facing. U.S. territories like Puerto Rico heavily depend upon Social Security, considering the rash of factory and military base closures in recent years. The highest unemployment is generally reported in these states also. Puerto Rico politics are another issue. There is a lot of corruption.
Social Security Disability Insurance depends upon doctor’s orders
SSDI is more about medical opinion instead of being depending on age for instance Medicare and Social Security. As someone else pays the bills, local medical officials don’t have the immediate incentive to keep enrollment numbers down. While SSDI benefits could be modest in scope – payments averaged $1,064 per month in 2009 – participants gain access to other government benefits, which increases the cost for working class individuals. David Autor works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an SSDI expert. He said that regular Social Security Disability Insurance benefits to one person can add up to about $300,000 over a lifetime.
Should we expect higher taxes soon
Increasing the Social Security fund would be the only way to save SSDI without increasing taxes. This would drain away retirement funds, forcing retirees to swallow benefit cuts sooner than they would have otherwise. Nancy Altman is in the Social Security Works activist group. She says something has to be done about this.
“This is a program of crucial importance to every working American and his or her family,” she said.
Citations
ssdi, social security, social security disability insurance, social security bankrupt
No more Social Security Disability, US worries
The SSDI fund first started to pay out more than it was making back in 2005. That trend has continued each year – plus the number of Social Security beneficiaries grew by 489,488 in 2010, the highest one-year increase in history. This has led experts to predict that Social Security Disability Insurance will exhaust surplus funds in four to 7 years, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Paying out $22 billion more than it makes with Social Security
Social Security could have spent $153 billion in benefits by 2015. That’s $22 billion more than it is anticipated to take in, underscoring an issue that many Americans will shortly face. The Social Security retirement fund is anticipated to last until 2040 while Medicare is only expected to last until 2029. Government auditors explain that change has to happen. This is the only way that Social Security Disability Insurance will be able to last more than seven years.
Number of applications Social Security has
The recession sent a huge wave of new applicants into the Social Security program. Over the past decade, numbers swelled from 6.6 million beneficiaries to 10.2 million. The Social Security Disability Insurance funds are needed by lots of states and territories that the U.S. owns. In the last 10 years, there has been an 85 percent increase in Texas enrollment while, at the same time, New Hampshire has had a 69 percent growth. West Virginia gets more Social Security Disability Insurance than any other state when considering the percentage of total population.
The cause that many suspect is the manual labor related health difficulties that many states with manufacturing and agriculture are facing. In the last few years, military bases and factories have been closing in United States territories for instance Puerto Rico. That means more individuals are relying on Social Security there. The highest joblessness is generally reported in these states also. Puerto Rico politics are another issue. There is a lot of corruption.
Social Security Disability Insurance depends upon doctor’s orders
Unlike age-based programs like Medicare and Social Security retirement benefits, SSDI is closely tied to medical opinion. Local medical officials don't have any reasons to stop enrollment since someone else pays for it. Government benefits are given with SSDI benefits although they’re around $1,064 a month on average in 2009. Taxpayers end up picking up the tab. SSDI expert David Autor of the MA Institute of Technology estimates that such additional programs amount to an average of $300,000 paid out per person over the lifetime of somebody who receives SSDI benefits regularly.
Chances of higher taxes happening
In the short term, the only way Congress can conserve SSDI without tax increases is to fold it to the main Social Security fund. Retirees would lose benefits fairly quickly since the retirement fund would be lost. However, as Nancy Altman of the activist group Social Security Works contends, something must be done.
“This is a program of crucial importance to every working American and his or her family,” she said.
Citations
Social Security Online
ssa.gov/disability/
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703752404576178570674769318.html
Milton Friedman on Social Security: Save your money
youtube.com/watch?v=rCdgv7n9xCY
Social Security Online
ssa.gov/disability/
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703752404576178570674769318.html
Milton Friedman on Social Security: Save your money
youtube.com/watch?v=rCdgv7n9xCY