Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2011

Beneficiaries Who Have Filed for Workers' Compensation or Public Disability Benefits

Notes

In December 2011, approximately 574,000 disabled workers on the Social Security Disability Insurance program had filed for workers' compensation or public disability benefits. Disability payments from private sources, such as private pension or insurance benefits, do not affect Social Security disability benefits, but workers' compensation and other public disability benefits may reduce them. Workers' compensation is paid to a worker because of a job-related injury or illness. It may be paid by federal or state workers' compensation agencies or employers or by insurance companies on behalf of employers.

Other public disability benefits that may affect Social Security disability benefits are those paid by a federal, state, or local government for disabling medical conditions that are not job related. Examples are civil service disability benefits, military disability benefits, state temporary disability benefits, and state or local government retirement benefits that are based on disability. Persons who receive Social Security disability benefits and one of the following types of public benefits will not have their Social Security disability benefit reduced:

Veterans Administration benefits;
State and local government benefits, if Social Security taxes were deducted from earnings; or
Supplemental Security Income.

The total amount received from workers' compensation or other public disability benefits and Social Security disability benefits cannot exceed 80 percent of the worker's average current earnings before he or she became disabled. The monthly Social Security disability benefit includes benefits payable to family members. If the total amount of these benefits exceeds 80 percent of average current earnings, the excess amount is deducted from the Social Security benefit. The benefit will be reduced until the month the worker reaches age 65 or the month the other benefits stop, whichever comes first.

Example

Before becoming disabled, the worker's average current earnings were $4,000 a month. The disabled worker, his or her spouse, and their two children would be eligible to receive a total of $2,200 a month in Social Security disability benefits. However, the disabled worker also receives $2,000 a month from workers' compensation. Because the total amount of benefits received ($4,200) is more than $3,200 (80 percent of average current earnings), the family's Social Security disability benefits will be reduced by $1,000.

Chart 7. Distribution of workers, by diagnostic group and sex, December 2011

Among disabled workers who are also receiving workers' compensation or public disability benefits, a disease of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue was the primary diagnosis in December 2011. Mental disorders were the second leading disabling condition. A disorder of the nervous system and sense organs was the third most common disability for women. Injuries were the third most common disability for men. All other impairments were fairly evenly split between men and women.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 7. Distribution of workers, by diagnostic group and sex, December 2011 (percent)
Diagnostic group	Men	Women
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	1.6	2.5
Injuries	8.3	4.4
Mental disorders	16.5	21.6
Circulatory system	4.1	2.2
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	58.9	55.6
Nervous system and sense organs	4.7	7.4
All other impairments	5.9	6.2

SOURCE: Table 34.

Table 31. Distribution of workers and dependents who have filed, by reason for having or not having an offset, December 2011
Reason	Total		Workers		Spouses and children
Reason	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All disabled beneficiaries and dependents	727,045	100.0	573,681	100.0	153,364	100.0
	With offset
Receipt of—
Workers' compensation only
Black Lung	399	0.1	285	(L)	114	0.1
Harbor Workers and Longshoremen	589	0.1	441	0.1	148	0.1
Federal employees	2,963	0.4	2,320	0.4	643	0.4
State	108,763	15.0	77,126	13.4	31,637	20.6
Public disability only
Federal	1,476	0.2	1,254	0.2	222	0.1
State	9,696	1.3	8,051	1.4	1,645	1.1
Local	519	0.1	385	0.1	134	0.1
Workers' compensation and—
Federal public disability	14	(L)	13	(L)	1	(L)
State public disability	569	0.1	448	0.1	121	0.1
Local public disability	5	(L)	5	(L)	0	0.0
Social Security Disability Insurance (reverse offset)	56,909	7.8	45,069	7.9	11,840	7.7
	Without offset
High average current earnings	386,186	53.1	313,360	54.6	72,826	47.5
Entitlement to workers' compensation or public disability benefits is pending	158,957	21.9	124,924	21.8	34,033	22.2
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTE: (L) = less than 0.05 percent.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 32. Distribution of workers and dependents who have filed, by state or other area of residence, December 2011
State or area	Total		Workers		Spouses and children
State or area	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All areas	727,045	100.0	573,681	100.0	153,364	100.0
Alabama	13,536	1.9	10,398	1.8	3,138	2.0
Alaska	624	0.1	496	0.1	128	0.1
Arizona	9,250	1.3	7,527	1.3	1,723	1.1
Arkansas	6,765	0.9	5,265	0.9	1,500	1.0
California	103,228	14.2	85,867	15.0	17,361	11.3
Colorado	9,100	1.3	7,432	1.3	1,668	1.1
Connecticut	5,865	0.8	4,565	0.8	1,300	0.8
Delaware	2,025	0.3	1,598	0.3	427	0.3
District of Columbia	350	(L)	294	0.1	56	(L)
Florida	37,645	5.2	30,057	5.2	7,588	4.9
Georgia	22,447	3.1	17,665	3.1	4,782	3.1
Hawaii	1,985	0.3	1,609	0.3	376	0.2
Idaho	2,460	0.3	1,939	0.3	521	0.3
Illinois	18,267	2.5	14,193	2.5	4,074	2.7
Indiana	5,534	0.8	4,226	0.7	1,308	0.9
Iowa	4,382	0.6	3,466	0.6	916	0.6
Kansas	3,758	0.5	3,003	0.5	755	0.5
Kentucky	20,166	2.8	15,693	2.7	4,473	2.9
Louisiana	11,347	1.6	8,287	1.4	3,060	2.0
Maine	5,782	0.8	4,645	0.8	1,137	0.7
Maryland	5,217	0.7	4,256	0.7	961	0.6
Massachusetts	16,519	2.3	12,618	2.2	3,901	2.5
Michigan	37,384	5.1	29,276	5.1	8,108	5.3
Minnesota	7,322	1.0	6,016	1.0	1,306	0.9
Mississippi	7,227	1.0	5,470	1.0	1,757	1.1
Missouri	13,356	1.8	10,554	1.8	2,802	1.8
Montana	2,805	0.4	2,313	0.4	492	0.3
Nebraska	2,171	0.3	1,713	0.3	458	0.3
Nevada	3,933	0.5	3,277	0.6	656	0.4
New Hampshire	4,044	0.6	3,093	0.5	951	0.6
New Jersey	18,580	2.6	14,125	2.5	4,455	2.9
New Mexico	3,798	0.5	3,082	0.5	716	0.5
New York	85,849	11.8	65,732	11.5	20,117	13.1
North Carolina	22,608	3.1	17,929	3.1	4,679	3.1
North Dakota	926	0.1	735	0.1	191	0.1
Ohio	17,879	2.5	14,663	2.6	3,216	2.1
Oklahoma	8,246	1.1	6,579	1.1	1,667	1.1
Oregon	6,375	0.9	5,260	0.9	1,115	0.7
Pennsylvania	38,459	5.3	29,696	5.2	8,763	5.7
Rhode Island	3,136	0.4	2,561	0.4	575	0.4
South Carolina	14,670	2.0	11,437	2.0	3,233	2.1
South Dakota	1,027	0.1	821	0.1	206	0.1
Tennessee	14,918	2.1	11,718	2.0	3,200	2.1
Texas	16,030	2.2	12,421	2.2	3,609	2.4
Utah	2,013	0.3	1,542	0.3	471	0.3
Vermont	1,099	0.2	870	0.2	229	0.1
Virginia	11,634	1.6	9,090	1.6	2,544	1.7
Washington	12,882	1.8	10,549	1.8	2,333	1.5
West Virginia	8,708	1.2	6,819	1.2	1,889	1.2
Wisconsin	9,282	1.3	7,298	1.3	1,984	1.3
Wyoming	616	0.1	495	0.1	121	0.1
Outlying areas
Puerto Rico	42,131	5.8	32,271	5.6	9,860	6.4
Other ^a	238	(L)	138	(L)	100	0.1
Foreign countries	1,447	0.2	1,039	0.2	408	0.3
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Distribution is by state or other area of residence, not by the state paying benefits.
(L) = less than 0.05 percent.
a. Includes American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 33. Distribution of workers who have filed, by diagnostic group and age, December 2011
Diagnostic group	Total, all ages	Under 35	35–39	40–44	45–49	50–54	55–59	60–64
	Number
Total	573,681	8,134	14,463	33,692	67,539	120,114	160,245	169,494
Congenital anomalies	308	10	11	30	46	65	74	72
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	11,169	86	161	462	1,084	2,127	3,320	3,929
Infectious and parasitic diseases	4,156	47	76	276	661	967	1,129	1,000
Injuries	38,835	1,128	1,403	2,806	4,895	7,923	10,022	10,658
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	54	14	4	6	3	14	7	6
Developmental disorders	97	6	8	12	24	14	23	10
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	74	8	4	7	9	17	22	7
Intellectual disability	5,615	159	153	504	932	1,350	1,324	1,193
Mood disorders	65,872	1,270	2,223	4,897	9,508	14,371	17,265	16,338
Organic mental disorders	13,299	356	539	1,016	1,826	2,890	3,393	3,279
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	7,607	324	348	706	1,211	1,802	1,789	1,427
Other	13,464	378	528	1,095	1,935	2,795	3,051	3,682
Neoplasms	6,069	166	147	320	665	1,245	1,691	1,835
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	407	24	18	32	63	89	93	88
Circulatory system	19,336	125	220	613	1,372	3,139	5,807	8,060
Digestive system	3,501	52	72	158	385	722	1,080	1,032
Genitourinary system	2,979	124	126	265	444	608	730	682
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	330,526	3,017	7,064	17,492	36,668	69,833	95,660	100,792
Nervous system and sense organs	33,009	673	1,028	2,202	4,191	6,859	8,688	9,368
Respiratory system	8,152	42	124	292	613	1,473	2,463	3,145
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	700	19	25	52	81	153	178	192
Other	622	13	17	42	68	141	180	161
Unknown	7,830	93	164	407	855	1,517	2,256	2,538
	Percent
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Congenital anomalies	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	(L)	(L)
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	1.9	1.1	1.1	1.4	1.6	1.8	2.1	2.3
Infectious and parasitic diseases	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.8	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.6
Injuries	6.8	13.9	9.7	8.3	7.2	6.6	6.3	6.3
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	(L)	0.2	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Developmental disorders	(L)	0.1	0.1	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	(L)	0.1	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Intellectual disability	1.0	2.0	1.1	1.5	1.4	1.1	0.8	0.7
Mood disorders	11.5	15.6	15.4	14.5	14.1	12.0	10.8	9.6
Organic mental disorders	2.3	4.4	3.7	3.0	2.7	2.4	2.1	1.9
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	1.3	4.0	2.4	2.1	1.8	1.5	1.1	0.8
Other	2.3	4.6	3.7	3.3	2.9	2.3	1.9	2.2
Neoplasms	1.1	2.0	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.1
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Circulatory system	3.4	1.5	1.5	1.8	2.0	2.6	3.6	4.8
Digestive system	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6
Genitourinary system	0.5	1.5	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.5	0.5	0.4
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	57.6	37.1	48.8	51.9	54.3	58.1	59.7	59.5
Nervous system and sense organs	5.8	8.3	7.1	6.5	6.2	5.7	5.4	5.5
Respiratory system	1.4	0.5	0.9	0.9	0.9	1.2	1.5	1.9
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Other	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Unknown	1.4	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.3	1.4	1.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTE: (L) = less than 0.05 percent.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 34. Distribution of workers who have filed, by diagnostic group and sex, December 2011
Diagnostic group	Total		Men		Women
Diagnostic group	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All disabled workers	573,681	100.0	348,030	100.0	225,651	100.0
Congenital anomalies	308	0.1	168	(L)	140	0.1
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	11,169	1.9	5,550	1.6	5,619	2.5
Infectious and parasitic diseases	4,156	0.7	3,316	1.0	840	0.4
Injuries	38,835	6.8	28,921	8.3	9,914	4.4
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	54	(L)	35	(L)	19	(L)
Developmental disorders	97	(L)	62	(L)	35	(L)
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	74	(L)	47	(L)	27	(L)
Intellectual disability	5,615	1.0	4,277	1.2	1,338	0.6
Mood disorders	65,872	11.5	30,462	8.8	35,410	15.7
Organic mental disorders	13,299	2.3	9,921	2.9	3,378	1.5
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	7,607	1.3	4,997	1.4	2,610	1.2
Other	13,464	2.3	7,457	2.1	6,007	2.7
Neoplasms	6,069	1.1	3,206	0.9	2,863	1.3
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	407	0.1	191	0.1	216	0.1
Circulatory system	19,336	3.4	14,269	4.1	5,067	2.2
Digestive system	3,501	0.6	2,226	0.6	1,275	0.6
Genitourinary system	2,979	0.5	1,998	0.6	981	0.4
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	330,526	57.6	205,112	58.9	125,414	55.6
Nervous system and sense organs	33,009	5.8	16,282	4.7	16,727	7.4
Respiratory system	8,152	1.4	4,645	1.3	3,507	1.6
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	700	0.1	371	0.1	329	0.1
Other	622	0.1	287	0.1	335	0.1
Unknown	7,830	1.4	4,230	1.2	3,600	1.6
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTE: (L) = less than 0.05 percent.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.