On this page:

• Contact Information
• Highlights 2002
• Preface
• Errata
• Notes
• Table of Contents
• Accessibility and Usability Information
• Other Editions of this Publication

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Contact Information

Your suggestions and comments on this report are welcome and should be directed to Kevin Kulzer at 410-965-5366 or di.asr@ssa.gov. For specific questions about the data, please call or e-mail the contact listed on each table. For additional copies of the report, please e-mail op.publications@ssa.gov.

Highlights 2002

Size and Scope of the Social Security Disability Program

• Disability benefits were paid to almost 6.5 million people.
• Awards to disabled workers (730,383) represented about 91 percent of awards to all disabled beneficiaries (805,311).
• Payments to disabled beneficiaries totaled about $62 billion.
• Benefits were terminated for about 479,000 disabled workers.
• Supplemental Security Income payments were another source of income for about 1 out of 8 disabled beneficiaries.

Profile of Disabled-Worker Beneficiaries

• Workers accounted for the largest share of disabled beneficiaries (85 percent).
• Average age was about 51.
• Men represented about 56 percent.
• Mental disorders was the diagnosis for almost a third.
• Average monthly benefit received was $834.

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 disabled-worker benefits;
• Geographic distribution of beneficiaries;
• Disabled beneficiaries receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or both; and
• Income of disabled beneficiaries.

This edition includes two new series of tables. One set provides information about disabled workers who have returned to work. The other provides data about outcomes of applications, by year of application, for disabled-worker benefits such as the percentage of claims allowed. In addition, this year we have used 100 percent data files to produce the award and termination tables.

Most of the data are from the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) program records. Information on the income of disabled beneficiaries was obtained from the 2001 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) panel. The SIPP data were linked to information from SSA'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.

Cece Chin compiled this report for publication. Cece Chin, Paul Davies, Carolyn A. Harrison, Thuy Ho, Art Kahn, Melissa Koenig, Clark Pickett, and Jeff Shapiro 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, Celine Houget and Laurie Brown edited the report, and Kathryn Winstead provided final production assistance. Laurie Brown prepared the electronic versions for the Web.

Errata

Table 34 in the original print and electronic versions of this report contained calculation errors in the column for the percentage distribution of awards to disabled workers aged 62–FRA. The electronic version of this report has been corrected to reflect the correct percentages.

[Posted: September 22, 2008.]

The original print and electronic versions of this report contained errors. In Table 35, the percent listed for "Other," "Diseases of the–" for 1960 and 1961 were incorrectly reported as 0 (zero). In the electronic version of this report, footnote "e" replaces those incorrect figures and indicates the correct figures are less than 0.05 percent.

[Posted: June 4, 2008.]

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 widow(er)s' and most disabled adult children's benefits are paid from the OASI trust fund. Persons receiving disability benefits from either trust fund are referred to in this report as Social Security beneficiaries.

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 number of awards beginning with 2001 compared with earlier years.

All years are calendar years unless otherwise specified.

Table of Contents

Accessibility and Usability Information

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Other Editions of this Publication

Next Expected Update

September 2009

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Other Editions

• Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2007 (released September 2008)
• Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2006 (released August 2007)
• Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2005 (released September 2006)
• Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2004 (released March 2006)
• 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)