Characteristics of Noninstitutionalized DI and SSI Program Participants, 2010 Update

Introduction

The Social Security Administration (SSA) produces several statistical publications based on the data used to administer the Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. Although these data are extensive, they do not capture many of the economic and demographic characteristics of program participants. To better understand those beneficiary populations, SSA matches information from its administrative records with data collected by the Census Bureau in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). DeCesaro and Hemmeter (2008) contains tables describing the characteristics of DI and SSI program participants based on 2002 data. This note updates those tables with data for 2010.

Data

The SIPP is a household survey of the noninstitutionalized resident population of the United States. The survey broadly measures the economic situations of households, paying particular attention to the role of government transfer and service programs. Within a given SIPP wave, each participating household is tracked for several years and is interviewed every 4 months.¹ In addition to the core questions about income and program participation, each interview includes questions from a rotating module on a topic such as marital history or education.

Although the previous iteration of this analysis included a special sample of known DI beneficiaries and SSI recipients, such a sample was not interviewed in the 2008 SIPP, which provided the data for this note. Thus, the estimates presented here are based on smaller samples of DI beneficiaries and SSI recipients included in the public-use SIPP data file. Additionally, the definitions of some of the characteristics differ from those used in the previous work. Those changes were necessary to avoid disclosing information about individual sample members.

To improve the quality of the data, SIPP results are matched to Social Security administrative records based on the respondent's validated Social Security number. For individuals with valid numbers, we use the administrative records to determine whether they received DI benefits or SSI payments and, if so, the amounts received. For individuals who did not provide a valid Social Security number, we use self-reported values from the SIPP. We identify individuals as DI beneficiaries and SSI recipients if they received a payment in December 2010.² Consistent with the prior edition of this study, we define SSI receipt only in terms of federal payments; that is, we do not include state SSI supplements (even those that are federally administered) in our definition. In tabulations of SSI recipients' Medicaid coverage, we recode the SIPP Medicaid variable to reflect the automatic Medicaid coverage of SSI recipients in certain states under Section 1634 of the Social Security Act.

We weight the SIPP results using December 2010 Social Security administrative data adjusted for institutional status.³ We use data for September, October, November, and December 2010 to measure income and poverty. Those months span waves 7 and 8 of the 2008 SIPP. All demographic characteristics other than income and SSI and DI benefit amounts are based on SIPP data for December 2010.

Discussion of the Estimates

This section highlights selected estimates from the tables and charts.

DI Beneficiaries

DI beneficiaries in this sample comprise disabled workers, disabled widow(er)s, and disabled adult children. Because 89 percent of the beneficiaries in this sample were disabled workers, the tables present information separately for that subgroup, although we do not discuss those results in the text. For convenience and consistency with other publications, we refer to all these groups as DI beneficiaries regardless of whether their benefits are paid from the Disability Insurance or the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and as long as their eligibility is based on disability.⁴

Although DI beneficiaries are eligible for Medicare, coverage does not begin until 24 months after the first month of benefit receipt. In December 2010, 64 percent of DI beneficiaries reported Medicare coverage (alone or in combination with other coverage), 43 percent reported Medicaid coverage, and 33 percent had private health insurance (Chart 1). Nearly one-quarter of beneficiaries held joint Medicare and Medicaid coverage and a similar proportion had only Medicare coverage (Table 1). About 8 percent of DI beneficiaries in the sample reported having no health insurance.

Chart 1.
DI beneficiaries, by type of health insurance coverage, December 2010 (in percent)

SOURCE: Social Security administrative records matched to 2008 SIPP wave 7 and 8 results for December 2010.

NOTE: Individuals may have more than one type of coverage.

Many of those who reported Medicaid coverage were likely to be among the 20 percent of disabled beneficiaries who also received SSI payments. Other forms of income included earnings (received by 11 percent of DI beneficiaries), property income from all assets (received by 31 percent), and other public assistance (received by 32 percent).

The majority of DI beneficiaries had 4-month personal income below $5,000 (Table 1). DI benefits were an important income source, constituting 75–100 percent of personal income for more than one-half of DI beneficiaries (Table 2).

Two out of three DI beneficiaries reported a family size of one or two individuals, and one-third of DI beneficiaries reported that two or more individuals in the household received any Social Security disability, old-age, or survivor benefits (Table 3). About one-half of DI beneficiaries had 4-month family income below $10,000. Nearly 60 percent owned their own home and very few relied on energy assistance (8 percent) or housing assistance (2 percent). However, nearly 32 percent of DI beneficiary households relied on food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp program).

As Table 4 shows, the two largest sources of family income for DI beneficiaries were their Social Security benefits (58 percent) and earnings (23 percent). Among the marital-status groups, the contribution of earnings toward family income was highest for married DI beneficiaries; those who were divorced or separated relied more heavily on their DI benefits. For beneficiaries with fewer than 12 years of education, benefits accounted for 63 percent and earnings accounted for 18 percent of family income. For those with at least 16 years of education, benefits accounted for 52 percent and earnings accounted for 26 percent of family income.

Although 29 percent of DI beneficiaries had family income of at least 300 percent of the poverty threshold, nearly 20 percent were in poverty (Table 5). Female DI beneficiaries and beneficiaries who were not married were among those most likely to have family income below the poverty threshold. The proportions of DI beneficiaries above 300 percent of the poverty threshold differed widely by educational attainment. Only 11 percent of those with fewer than 12 years of education were above 300 percent of the threshold, compared with 45 percent of those with 16 years or more of education (Chart 2).

Chart 2.
DI beneficiaries with family incomes at selected percentages of the poverty threshold, by years of education, December 2010 (in percent)

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 2.DI beneficiaries with family incomes at selected percentages of the poverty threshold, by years of education, December 2010 (in percent)

Years of education	Family income relative to poverty threshold
	Less than 100%	300% or more
0–11	32.8	11.0
12	18.6	27.2
13–15	18.4	31.7
16 or more	10.0	44.7

SOURCE: Social Security administrative records matched to 2008 SIPP wave 7 and 8 results for December 2010.

NOTES: A “family” is two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption.

Family income is for September–December 2010.

As part of the social safety net, DI benefits help keep some individuals out of poverty. If DI benefits were removed from their income, one-half of disabled beneficiaries would have been in poverty in 2010 based on their family income level (Table 6). With DI benefits included in family income, only 20 percent of beneficiaries had income below the poverty threshold. Beneficiaries' economic behavior would likely change if they did not receive disability benefits; thus, hypothetical estimates that simply exclude DI benefits do not fully capture the economic situation beneficiaries would experience in the absence of the program. Rather, these estimates represent how the program contributes to the reduction in poverty under existing patterns of behavior. Receiving DI benefits reduced the aggregate poverty gap, or the aggregate difference between family income and the poverty threshold for those below the threshold, by 87 percent (Table 7).

SSI Recipients

SSI recipients in this sample include aged, blind, and disabled individuals. Our SSI tables show results for three subgroups: children (younger than age 18), working-age adults (18–64), and the aged (65 or older).⁵ The maximum monthly SSI payment amount, called the federal benefit rate, can be reduced for individuals with countable earnings and unearned income. In 2010, the federal benefit rate was $674 for an individual and $1,011 for a couple in which both members were eligible.

Working-age SSI recipients were more likely to have higher levels of education than aged recipients in December 2010. Among working-age recipients, 68 percent had at least 12 years of education, compared with 47 percent of aged recipients (Chart 3). About 37 percent of aged recipients had fewer than 9 years of education, compared with 12 percent of working-age recipients (Table 8). We note that a substantial proportion of aged SSI recipients reported Social Security benefits in the SIPP (72 percent); however, according to SSA records, only 56 percent of SSI recipients aged 65 or older had Social Security benefits (SSA 2012, Table 7.D2).

Chart 3.
SSI recipients, by educational attainment and age group, December 2010 (in percent)

SOURCE: Social Security administrative records matched to 2008 SIPP wave 7 and 8 results for December 2010.

Unlike Medicare coverage under DI, which begins only after 24 months in the program, Medicaid coverage begins immediately for SSI recipients in most states. In December 2010, 95 percent of all SSI recipients had Medicaid coverage and 40 percent had Medicare coverage. A majority (64 percent) of working-age SSI recipients was covered by Medicaid only, while 23 percent reported having joint Medicare and Medicaid coverage but no private insurance. The percentage of aged SSI recipients with Medicare coverage is undoubtedly high, although perhaps not quite the 97 percent reported in the SIPP.⁶ Private health insurance covered almost 9 percent of SSI recipients. All aged SSI recipients had at least one type of health insurance; however, 4 percent of children and 3 percent of working-age recipients had no coverage.

Table 8 also shows that 54 percent of recipients reported receiving public assistance other than SSI (such as General Assistance), and 6 percent reported earnings. Nearly 39 percent of SSI recipients reported receiving Social Security benefits and 9 percent reported other sources of income.

A majority of SSI adult recipients did not own their own home, and most received SNAP food assistance (Table 9). SSI recipients were typically unique in their households with regard to type of recipient. For example, 78 percent of child recipients resided in households where they were the sole SSI child recipient. Similarly, for working-age SSI recipients, 76 percent resided in households where there was only one working-age recipient.

The majority of SSI recipients (58 percent) had 4-month total personal income below $3,000 and most of those individuals had income between $2,500 and $2,999 (Table 8). We note that SSI payments for a recipient who qualified for the federal benefit rate of $674 in 2010 would amount to $2,696 over a 4-month period, which would fall within that range. Although family income was generally higher than personal income for SSI recipients, total family income across 4 months was still less than $7,500 ($1,875/month) for 60 percent of SSI recipients (Table 9). SSI payments accounted for 100 percent of personal income for 34 percent of working-age SSI recipients and for 19 percent of SSI recipients aged 65 or older (Table 10).

Family income for SSI recipients primarily comprised SSI payments, Social Security benefits, and earnings (Table 11). SSI payments accounted for 44 percent of family income, earnings accounted for 23 percent, and Social Security benefits accounted for 22 percent. The share of family income contributed by earnings was higher for families with child SSI recipients than for those with working-age recipients (38 percent versus 20 percent). The majority of family income for SSI recipients aged 65 or older was provided by the combination of Social Security benefits (37 percent) and SSI payments (36 percent).

A substantial minority (43 percent) of SSI recipients had family income below the poverty level in December 2010 (Table 12). Among those most likely to fall under the poverty threshold were aged SSI recipients, those who were widowed, those who were divorced or separated, and recipients with 13–15 years of education. Although families with a child SSI recipient were somewhat less likely than families with an adult recipient to be in poverty, almost one-third were below the poverty line.

SSI payments helped some families move above the poverty line, but most families remained within 150 percent of the poverty threshold. Without counting SSI payments in family income, the poverty rate would be 65 percent, compared with the actual rate (43 percent) when SSI payments are included (Table 13). The percentage of child SSI recipients with family income below the poverty line falls from 58 percent to 32 percent when SSI is counted. Thus, of children whose family income without SSI would be below the poverty line, about 46 percent are not in poverty when SSI payments are included in family income. The impact of SSI payments on family income of aged recipients is somewhat smaller, helping 28 percent move above the poverty threshold. SSI payments reduced the aggregate poverty gap by 71 percent (Table 14). The reduction was slightly larger for aged SSI recipients and slightly smaller for child recipients. As with the estimated impacts of DI benefits on poverty, these estimates do not capture any changes in the economic behavior of SSI recipients that could result from the presence or absence of SSI payments.