Key Takeaways
The Social Security Trustees project that, absent congressional action, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Trust Fund will be exhausted in late 2016 and disabled beneficiaries would then receive only about 80 percent of scheduled benefits.
The risk of disabling illness or injury is significant, and the financial repercussions can be severe. Just over one in four of the nation’s 20-year olds will become disabled before reaching age 67. Private disability income protection coverage provides crucial financial protection against loss of income due to illness or injury. But, most working Americans do not have income protection coverage.
Private disability income protection coverage also significantly reduces the burden on public programs that provide assistance to disabled workers – such as the SSDI program, Medicare, Medicaid, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and the Special Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Background
Americans routinely insure their cars and homes. But, too few insure their most valuable asset: the ability to earn an income. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, two-thirds of private industry employees do not have employer-sponsored disability coverage.1Additionally, more than half of American workers indicate that they know not very much or nothing at all about disability income insurance.2 As a result, many Americans lack disability income protection, resulting in a significant risk of financial hardship.