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A New Way of Measuring SSDI Beneficiaries Reentering the Workforce
Mathematica Research Brief Dispels Low Statistic
Media Advisory: May 26, 2010
Contact: Amy Berridge, (609) 945-3378
Issue: The percentage of new SSDI beneficiaries who eventually leave the rolls for work is often cited as “one-half of one percent,” a well-known statistic that appears in the 1999 Ticket to Work (TTW) and Work Incentives Improvement Act. However, this number is based on beneficiaries’ actions over a short period—a month or year—a “cross-sectional” statistic. Another important way to measure how many beneficiaries leave the rolls for work is to follow them from the time they first receive their SSDI award for a period that is much longer than a year—to produce “longitudinal” statistics.
Findings: Mathematica’s brief presents longitudinal employment and exit-for-work statistics for SSDI beneficiaries followed for 10 years after the point at which they first received their award. These statistics are significant in that they show that the percentage who eventually leave the rolls for work is several times larger than one-half of one percent.
Quote: “Longitudinal statistics represent ‘good news’ in that, compared to cross-sectional statistics, they paint a more optimistic picture of beneficiaries’ efforts to find work,” said David Stapleton, senior fellow and director of Mathematica’s Center for Studying Disability Policy, and co-author of the brief. “They also show that some beneficiaries return to work but don’t leave the rolls. These individuals might become more self-sufficient if the incentive to work were stronger, such as the benefit offset to be tested in SSA’s Benefit Offset National Demonstration.”
Research Brief: “How Many SSDI Beneficiaries Leave the Rolls for Work? More Than You Might Think.” Su Liu and David Stapleton, April 2010.
About the Center for Studying Disability Policy: The Center for Studying Disability Policy’s mission is to inform disability policy formation with rigorous, objective research and data collected from the people disability policy aims to serve. The center was formed in 2007 to coalesce and further strengthen Mathematica’s extensive disability policy research and data collection efforts, and to ensure that the results of Mathematica’s work are accessible to the disability policy community.
About Mathematica: Mathematica Policy Research, a nonpartisan research firm, provides a full range of research and data collection services, including program evaluation and policy research, survey design and data collection, research assessment and interpretation, and program performance/data management, to improve public well-being. Its clients include federal and state governments, foundations, and private-sector and international organizations. The employee-owned company, with offices in Princeton, N.J., Ann Arbor, Mich., Cambridge, Mass., Chicago, Ill., Oakland, Calif., and Washington, D.C., has conducted some of the most important studies of disability, education, health care, international, family support, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs.