Voters Want to Make It Easier to Receive Social Security Disability Benefits
By Matthew Cortland and Lew Blank
More than 15 million Americans rely on disability programs administered by the Social Security Administration. “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” covered this topic on Sunday, September 22, underscoring how difficult it is for disabled Americans to apply for these disability benefits and keep them once granted.
In a new survey, Data for Progress finds that likely voters think that the federal government should make it less difficult to get disability benefits and demolish the barriers that keep some disabled beneficiaries from marrying.
Broad Opinion on Social Security Disability Benefits
The Social Security Administration manages two programs that provide disability benefits. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a need-based program that provides subsistence income to impoverished seniors and disabled people. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program for people who have made contributions to Social Security through payroll taxes.
The survey first asked voters whether they broadly think the U.S. government should take action to make it easier or harder to receive benefits from these disability programs that Social Security administers. A plurality of voters (49%) think the U.S. should take action to make it easier to receive benefits, while only 9% think the U.S. should take action to make it harder.
Respondents were then provided with a short description of the SSI program, which informed them that it “provides financial assistance to about 7 million people with disabilities and seniors who have little or no other income.”
After reading this description, 70% of voters — including 77% of Democrats, 69% of Independents, 64% of Republicans, and 74% of disabled voters — have a favorable view of SSI.
Voters were then asked whether they think the U.S. should increase funding for SSI, cut funding, or keep funding the same. A majority of voters (56%) — including 65% of Democrats, 51% of Independents, 49% of Republicans, and 72% of disabled voters — think the U.S. should increase SSI funding.
Less than 10% of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans believe we should cut SSI funding.
Support for Specific Reforms
The survey also tested support for specific reforms to make Social Security disability benefits more inclusive.
Currently, SSI is only available to individuals with $2,000 or less in assets (such as cash, retirement funds, personal savings, and stocks) and to married couples with $3,000 or less in assets. These limits were set in 1989; in the 35 years since then, the cost of living has risen by more than 150%, yet these rates haven’t budged.
The survey finds an overwhelming majority of voters (72%), including 80% of Democrats, 68% of Independents, 67% of Republicans, and 75% of disabled voters, support raising this asset cap to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples.
The SSI program also has an income cap in which anyone receiving more than $65 per month in earned income or more than $20 per month in unearned income — less money than the average American’s weekly grocery bill — will have their benefits reduced.
More than 7 in 10 voters support raising this income cap so that SSI benefits would not be reduced unless an individual receives more than $486 per month in earned income or more than $149 per month in unearned income.
This includes 79% of Democrats, 69% of Independents, 68% of Republicans, and 76% of disabled voters.
Voters were also asked if these asset and income caps for SSI should be fixed in place or tied to inflation. An overwhelming majority of voters (76%) support tying these caps to inflation.
Alongside these strict caps, SSI also has a “marriage penalty,” in which if two married individuals are both receiving SSI, their benefits will be reduced by 25%.
A majority of voters across party lines — including 58% of Democrats, 63% of Independents, 55% of Republicans, and 66% of disabled voters — want the U.S. government to repeal this rule.
Voters were also asked whether the medical professional sent to evaluate whether an individual has a qualifying disability for Social Security disability benefits should be the individual’s own medical professional or an outside medical professional.
Sixty percent of voters think the Social Security Administration (SSA) should trust the individual’s personal medical professional most, while only 32% think the SSA should trust an outside medical professional that the individual is sent to.
Finally, voters were asked whether outside medical professionals sent by the SSA should be required to have expertise in the relevant disability or medical condition that they’re evaluating.
Three-quarters of voters (75%) support this requirement, while only 17% believe this shouldn’t be required.
This survey demonstrates that voters generally think the U.S. government should take action to make it easier to receive Social Security disability benefits, that they are specifically favorable of the SSI program, and that they think funding for SSI should be increased. Additionally, voters are supportive of various reforms that would make it easier for impoverished disabled Americans and seniors who have little or no other income to receive these benefits, including raising the asset and income caps for SSI eligibility and repealing the “marriage penalty.”