A recent study showed that disability insurance can decrease the mortality of its recipients. The research for this study was supported by grants from the Social Security Administration and the SSA Disability Research Consortium at the National Bureau of Economic Research. The study was published by Alexander Gelber from UC Berkeley, Timothy Moore from the University of Melbourne and Alexander Strand from the SSA.
This study was the first to detail the positive impacts that disability income has on its recipients' health and lifespan. Previous studies on income's effect on health and mortality have not focused specifically on disability insurance recipients, and other studies have only focused on disability benefits' effects on the workforce. Many recipients of disability benefits already understand the improvements in quality of life after receiving disability income, this study confirms those testimonies and proves why disability income is necessary for millions of Americans.
A complete copy of this study can be found at:
Disability insurance recipients have high mortality rates and low average income, which is a unique demographic situation. This causes disability beneficiaries' health to be affected significantly by their level of income. Disability payments can greatly impact the recipient's health. The study found that $1,000 in annual disability payments decreases the annual mortality rate of low-income beneficiaries by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points. This means that people with disabilities are living longer while on disability payments.
To many, this findings of this study aren't surprising. Many of our clients live with less stress and live healthier lives after winning disability benefits.
