National Beneficiary Survey: Disability Statistics, 2015

Beneficiary Characteristics

Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics, by program and employment status (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries DI-only beneficiaries Concurrent program beneficiaries SSI-only beneficiaries All employed beneficiaries
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,666 833 1,563 445
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 7,347,758 1,944,622 3,604,355 1,064,064
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 57.0 15.1 28.0 8.3
Sex
Men 50.0 52.9 43.8 47.5 57.7
Women 50.0 47.1 56.2 52.5 42.3
Age
18–24 4.7 0.6 4.9 13.1 9.9
25–29 4.7 1.5 6.9 9.8 9.6
30–34 4.9 2.9 8.8 6.8 7.1
35–39 5.6 4.4 7.9 6.7 7.5
40–44 6.2 5.6 9.2 5.8 5.7
45–49 9.5 9.1 11.8 9.1 9.9
50–54 15.0 16.0 13.3 14.0 15.0
55–59 20.3 21.4 17.9 19.4 14.0
60 or older 29.1 38.5 19.2 15.2 21.3
Average (years) 50.6 54.5 47.1 44.7 46.1
Race
White only 69.0 75.6 62.6 59.0 72.4
Black or African American only 23.8 17.9 31.0 32.0 19.6
Other 7.2 6.5 6.4 9.0 8.0
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino 9.8 7.6 11.8 13.4 9.0
Not Hispanic or Latino 90.2 92.4 88.2 86.6 91.0
Education level
Did not complete high school or GED 28.3 19.8 36.6 41.1 16.7
High school 42.6 41.8 43.7 43.7 55.3
Diploma 30.8 32.1 28.6 29.5 41.0
GED 7.7 7.4 9.0 7.6 6.8
Special education certificate 4.1 2.3 6.2 6.6 7.5
Some college or postsecondary vocational 13.7 16.6 12.3 8.6 8.0
Associate's degree or vocational diploma 7.5 10.5 4.1 3.3 8.7
Bachelor's degree 4.9 7.1 2.5 1.9 6.7
Some graduate work or graduate or professional degree 2.9 4.2 0.7 1.5 4.6
Marital status
Married 29.5 42.6 12.6 12.0 22.5
Divorced 24.2 24.3 27.2 22.3 20.2
Separated 5.1 3.9 5.3 7.6 4.0
Widowed 6.1 7.8 4.4 3.7 1.3
Never married 35.0 21.5 50.4 54.4 52.1
Household income as a percentage of federal poverty level
Less than 100 47.6 29.4 68.0 73.6 39.9
100–299 39.7 52.0 29.5 20.0 45.6
300 or over 12.8 18.6 2.5 6.4 14.4
NOTE: GED = General Educational Development certificate.
Table 2. Sociodemographic characteristics, by education level (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries Less than a high school education High school diploma or GED More than a high school education
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,131 1,937 994
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 3,649,387 5,497,885 3,749,463
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 28.3 42.6 29.1
Sex
Men 50.0 51.1 50.9 47.6
Women 50.0 48.9 49.1 52.4
Age
18–24 4.7 5.1 7.1 0.9
25–29 4.7 4.6 5.9 2.9
30–34 4.9 4.5 5.5 4.2
35–39 5.6 5.4 6.0 5.2
40–44 6.2 6.4 6.8 5.2
45–49 9.5 9.5 9.0 10.4
50–54 15.0 16.6 12.5 17.2
55–59 20.3 20.5 21.1 18.9
60 or older 29.1 27.4 26.1 35.0
Average (years) 50.6 50.4 49.2 53.1
Race
White only 69.0 65.2 67.9 74.2
Black or African American only 23.8 26.4 25.4 19.2
Other 7.2 8.4 6.7 6.7
Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino 9.8 16.7 7.4 6.6
Not Hispanic or Latino 90.2 83.3 92.6 93.4
Marital status
Married 29.5 24.4 26.9 38.3
Divorced 24.2 25.1 22.8 25.3
Separated 5.1 7.3 5.4 2.6
Widowed 6.1 5.8 6.8 5.4
Never married 35.0 37.4 38.0 28.4
Household income as a percentage of federal poverty level
Less than 100 47.6 64.0 48.5 30.1
100–299 39.7 30.7 39.8 48.3
300 or over 12.8 5.3 11.7 21.6
NOTE: GED = General Educational Development certificate.
Table 3. Living arrangements, by program and employment status (in percent)
Characteristic All beneficiaries DI-only beneficiaries Concurrent program beneficiaries SSI-only beneficiaries All employed beneficiaries
Number (unweighted) 4,062 1,666 833 1,563 445
Number (weighted) 12,896,735 7,347,758 1,944,622 3,604,355 1,064,064
Percentage (weighted) 100.0 57.0 15.1 28.0 8.3
Living arrangement
Lives alone 24.2 23.0 30.6 23.3 23.4
Lives with spouse, partner, or relatives 64.6 69.4 55.7 59.7 62.0
Lives with friends or roommates 5.4 3.9 5.1 8.5 4.0
Lives in group setting with nonrelatives 5.3 3.6 7.5 7.4 10.5
Other 0.6 0.2 1.1 1.1 0.0
Has children
No 81.6 82.7 80.9 79.9 81.9
Yes 16.4 15.4 16.7 18.4 14.6
Under age 6 3.7 2.7 4.5 5.4 3.9
6 or older 12.7 12.7 12.2 13.0 10.7
Unknown 1.9 2.0 2.4 1.7 3.4
Lives with some or all of own children
Yes 11.1 11.5 9.0 11.2 9.3
No 5.3 3.6 7.7 7.2 4.0
Not applicable (no children) 81.6 82.7 80.9 79.9 81.9
Unknown 2.1 2.2 2.4 1.7 4.7