Worry and stress about the economy tends to result in strong opinions regarding all sorts of ways that our country could better utilize its money. While economic stability is an important cause, the means of getting there must be based on well-rounded, honest information.
Representatives from the Social Security Administration have spoken out recently against the false picture that some critics have tried to paint of the Social Security disability insurance system. Basically, critics allege that people are fraudulently applying for the financial support and getting benefits that they don’t need or deserve.
Social Security disability lawyers, however, would say that disability benefits are hard to come by. Most claimants are denied multiple times before getting any financial support — if they get any at all. Fraudulent claims, therefore, would have a tough time getting approved.
Given that point, logic supports that other reasons besides fraud are behind the increase in claims and disability payments. The SSA indicates that changes in the population are the simplest explanation. When comparing the current disability claim numbers to those of past decades, they are higher because there are more people in the country, more workers because more women are in the workforce, and an aging baby boomer population utilizing their SSDI benefits.
For individuals who are injured or sick and unable to work, politicized statistics or really any of the above information probably doesn’t matter. They have enough to worry about without potentially feeling stigmatized for asking for disability benefits to which they are entitled. An SSDI attorney can help get them through the complex and often emotional process.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Explaining the ‘mystery’ of where all the disabled are coming from,” Michael Hiltzik, Dec. 3, 2013