The Benefit Receipt Patterns and Labor Market Experiences of Older Workers Who Were Denied Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits on the Basis of Work Capacity

Text description for Chart 1.
Distribution of DI applicants aged 51 or older but younger than FRA, by outcome of the initial determination (including DDS reconsideration), 1992–2012

Flowchart showing steps 2 through 5 of the sequential disability determination process described in the text. Chart includes the numbers of study sample members in each outcome category as well as the weighted numbers of the applicant populations the sample represents. The full sample consists of 805 HRS respondents (representing 5.47 million adults) who qualified at step 1 (financial eligibility). At step 2, examiners determine whether the impairment is severe. If not, the applicant is denied. One hundred twenty-five respondents (or 14.3 percent of the sample, representing 780,144 adults) were denied at step 2 ^a; the rest continued to step 3, in which examiners determine whether the impairment or impairments meet or equal the SSA medical listings. If so, the application is allowed. One hundred thirty-three respondents (or 18.7 percent of the sample, representing 1,021,886 adults) were allowed at step 3; the rest continued to step 4, in which examiners assess the applicant's capacity to engage in his or her past work. If the applicant is deemed able to resume past work, the application is denied. One hundred eighty-four respondents (or 20.6 percent of the sample, representing 1,130,297 adults) were denied at step 4; the rest continued to step 5, in which examiners assess the applicant's capacity to engage in any work. Seventy-five respondents (or 9.7 percent of the sample, representing 531,198 adults) were deemed able to work and were thus denied at step 5. The remaining 288 respondents (or 36.7 percent of the sample, representing 2,008,983 adults) were allowed at step 5. The chart shows that an applicant can be allowed only at steps 3 or 5 and that about half of all applicants were allowed. Of all applicants, about one-third were denied for work-capacity reasons—that is, at either step 4 or 5. Among allowances, about two-thirds were decided at step 5, based on capacity to do any work. Among denials for work-capacity reasons, about two-thirds were decided at step 4, based on capacity to resume past work.

Text description for Chart 2.
DI appeals and reapplications following initial denials for older applicants, 1992–2012

Flowchart showing whether and how applicants continued to pursue disability benefits after an initial denial. The process begins with the weighted universe of initial denials, consisting of 2,441,639 applicants. The first option they face is whether to appeal the denial. Those who appealed and succeeded account for 33.1 percent of initial denials. Those who did not appeal, or whose appeals were denied, could choose to reapply; of all initial denials, 38.7 percent never reapplied. Reapplicants who were allowed accounted for 22.6 percent of initial denials, and reapplicants who were denied accounted for 5.7 percent of initial denials.