Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 85, No. 3
This article examines the experiences of Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) disabled-worker beneficiaries following termination of benefits due to medical improvement or work. The authors explore earnings, DI reentitlement, and Supplemental Security Income eligibility in the 5- and 10-year periods after benefit termination and find that beneficiaries whose benefits were terminated because of work tend to have higher post-termination earnings and greater likelihood of DI reentitlement than those whose benefits were terminated because of medical improvement. The authors also investigate the association between beneficiary characteristics and post-termination outcomes, finding that age, entitlement duration, the likelihood of medical improvement, and certain diagnoses—especially psychotic disorders, intellectual disorders, neoplasms, and injuries—correlated with earnings levels and the likelihood of disability program reeligibility in the years following termination.