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Disability Benefits Suspended or Terminated Because of Work (Schimmel & Stapleton 2011)

  • Findings

    See findings section of this profile.

    Evidence Rating

    Not Rated

Citation

Schimmel, Jody, & Stapleton, David C. (2011). Disability Benefits Suspended or Terminated Because of Work. Social Security Bulletin, 71(3).

Highlights

  • This study produced statistics on the first month of suspension or termination for work for Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)-only recipients. It also estimated the number of months people spent in nonpayment status following suspension or termination for work (NSTW) before their return to the rolls, attainment of the full retirement age, or death—in each year from 2002 through 2006.
  • Data came from a compilation of multiple administrative data sources containing information on all DI and adult SSI disability recipients with at least one month in current pay status from 1996 onward, created for the Ticket to Work (TTW) evaluation.
  • The study found that less than 1 percent of all recipients, or about 70,000 each year, experienced their first month of benefit suspension or termination for work in each year from 2002 through 2006. However, the cumulative effect was much more substantial because many recipients remained in NSTW for a sustained period. Slightly more than 400,000 recipients or former recipients had at least one NSTW month in 2006.
  • TTW participants were more likely to have a first STW than nonparticipants, but most of those who had an STW were not TTW participants, reflecting low use of TTW.

Reviewed by CLEAR

December 2014