Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2016

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

Notes

In December 2016, approximately 513,000 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 is reduced until the month the worker reaches full retirement age 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 2016

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 2016. 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 2016 (percent)
Diagnostic group	Men	Women
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	1.3	1.9
Injuries	7.9	4.2
Mental disorders	13.3	17.8
Circulatory system	3.7	2.1
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	63.8	61.4
Nervous system and sense organs	4.5	7.0
All other impairments	5.5	5.8

SOURCE: Table 34.

Table 31. Distribution of workers and dependents who have filed, by reason for having or not having an offset, December 2016
Reason	Total		Workers		Spouses and children
Reason	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All disabled beneficiaries and dependents	619,069	100.0	513,496	100.0	105,573	100.0
	With offset
Receipt of—
Workers' compensation only
Black Lung	521	0.1	380	0.1	141	0.1
Harbor Workers and Longshoremen	466	0.1	354	0.1	112	0.1
Federal employees	4,788	0.8	3,923	0.8	865	0.8
State	84,736	13.7	63,496	12.4	21,240	20.1
Public disability only
Federal	825	0.1	745	0.1	80	0.1
State	8,059	1.3	6,801	1.3	1,258	1.2
Local	422	0.1	337	0.1	85	0.1
Workers' compensation and public disability	482	0.1	408	0.1	74	0.1
Social Security Disability Insurance (reverse offset)	48,829	7.9	40,596	7.9	8,233	7.8
	Without offset
High average current earnings	396,077	64.0	334,361	65.1	61,716	58.5
Entitlement to workers' compensation or public disability benefits is pending	73,864	11.9	62,095	12.1	11,769	11.1
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
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 2016
State or area	Total		Workers		Spouses and children
State or area	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All areas	619,069	100.0	513,496	100.0	105,573	100.0
Alabama	11,180	1.8	8,928	1.7	2,252	2.1
Alaska	427	0.1	364	0.1	63	0.1
Arizona	7,711	1.2	6,490	1.3	1,221	1.2
Arkansas	5,293	0.9	4,270	0.8	1,023	1.0
California	80,673	13.0	69,905	13.6	10,768	10.2
Colorado	7,320	1.2	6,232	1.2	1,088	1.0
Connecticut	5,313	0.9	4,430	0.9	883	0.8
Delaware	1,754	0.3	1,510	0.3	244	0.2
District of Columbia	303	(L)	279	0.1	24	(L)
Florida	32,335	5.2	27,099	5.3	5,236	5.0
Georgia	21,766	3.5	17,943	3.5	3,823	3.6
Hawaii	1,584	0.3	1,325	0.3	259	0.2
Idaho	2,150	0.3	1,769	0.3	381	0.4
Illinois	17,386	2.8	14,185	2.8	3,201	3.0
Indiana	4,512	0.7	3,673	0.7	839	0.8
Iowa	4,462	0.7	3,706	0.7	756	0.7
Kansas	3,137	0.5	2,586	0.5	551	0.5
Kentucky	15,959	2.6	12,881	2.5	3,078	2.9
Louisiana	9,156	1.5	7,188	1.4	1,968	1.9
Maine	5,348	0.9	4,521	0.9	827	0.8
Maryland	4,541	0.7	3,899	0.8	642	0.6
Massachusetts	16,599	2.7	13,395	2.6	3,204	3.0
Michigan	32,094	5.2	26,324	5.1	5,770	5.5
Minnesota	7,637	1.2	6,490	1.3	1,147	1.1
Mississippi	6,029	1.0	4,819	0.9	1,210	1.1
Missouri	10,660	1.7	8,898	1.7	1,762	1.7
Montana	2,092	0.3	1,792	0.3	300	0.3
Nebraska	1,744	0.3	1,411	0.3	333	0.3
Nevada	3,641	0.6	3,141	0.6	500	0.5
New Hampshire	3,937	0.6	3,197	0.6	740	0.7
New Jersey	14,616	2.4	11,757	2.3	2,859	2.7
New Mexico	3,249	0.5	2,770	0.5	479	0.5
New York	78,103	12.6	63,856	12.4	14,247	13.5
North Carolina	22,598	3.7	18,793	3.7	3,805	3.6
North Dakota	687	0.1	586	0.1	101	0.1
Ohio	14,379	2.3	12,284	2.4	2,095	2.0
Oklahoma	6,419	1.0	5,395	1.1	1,024	1.0
Oregon	6,118	1.0	5,224	1.0	894	0.8
Pennsylvania	38,293	6.2	31,257	6.1	7,036	6.7
Rhode Island	3,001	0.5	2,499	0.5	502	0.5
South Carolina	14,055	2.3	11,509	2.2	2,546	2.4
South Dakota	867	0.1	723	0.1	144	0.1
Tennessee	13,967	2.3	11,428	2.2	2,539	2.4
Texas	11,590	1.9	9,418	1.8	2,172	2.1
Utah	1,642	0.3	1,282	0.2	360	0.3
Vermont	1,043	0.2	876	0.2	167	0.2
Virginia	10,240	1.7	8,455	1.6	1,785	1.7
Washington	12,005	1.9	10,253	2.0	1,752	1.7
West Virginia	5,692	0.9	4,522	0.9	1,170	1.1
Wisconsin	7,552	1.2	6,240	1.2	1,312	1.2
Wyoming	490	0.1	410	0.1	80	0.1
Outlying areas
Puerto Rico	24,494	4.0	20,394	4.0	4,100	3.9
Other ^a	134	(L)	94	(L)	40	(L)
Foreign countries	1,092	0.2	821	0.2	271	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 2016
Diagnostic group	Total, all ages	Under 35	35–39	40–44	45–49	50–54	55–59	60–FRA
	Number
Total	513,496	4,181	8,425	18,366	40,304	86,102	153,444	202,674
Congenital anomalies	239	(X)	(X)	13	23	45	81	68
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	7,763	42	83	200	502	1,241	2,246	3,449
Infectious and parasitic diseases	3,077	19	50	102	241	608	863	1,194
Injuries	33,056	593	871	1,526	3,005	5,589	9,308	12,164
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	42	7	3	3	6	7	9	7
Developmental disorders	96	(X)	(X)	7	12	26	19	26
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	73	(X)	(X)	4	10	14	17	22
Intellectual disability	4,029	63	96	152	447	832	1,141	1,298
Mood disorders	45,800	492	913	2,023	4,400	8,443	12,541	16,988
Organic mental disorders	10,833	191	314	594	1,091	1,991	2,897	3,755
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	5,557	188	188	312	616	1,024	1,525	1,704
Other	10,897	290	425	665	1,279	2,187	2,754	3,297
Neoplasms	5,772	129	153	234	446	938	1,626	2,246
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	335	10	10	23	40	50	83	119
Circulatory system	15,688	78	156	335	863	2,146	4,591	7,519
Digestive system	2,767	48	57	103	206	450	798	1,105
Genitourinary system	2,724	96	99	172	333	537	689	798
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	322,855	1,409	4,121	10,121	23,206	52,828	100,421	130,749
Nervous system and sense organs	27,974	415	687	1,314	2,603	4,968	7,810	10,177
Respiratory system	6,867	25	46	134	349	977	2,108	3,228
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	511	11	17	24	43	85	150	181
Other	470	4	6	18	48	69	142	183
Unknown	6,071	61	119	287	535	1,047	1,625	2,397
	Percent
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Congenital anomalies	(L)	(X)	(X)	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	(L)
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	1.5	1.0	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.5	1.7
Infectious and parasitic diseases	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.6
Injuries	6.4	14.2	10.3	8.3	7.5	6.5	6.1	6.0
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	(L)	0.2	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Developmental disorders	(L)	(X)	(X)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	(L)	(X)	(X)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)	(L)
Intellectual disability	0.8	1.5	1.1	0.8	1.1	1.0	0.7	0.6
Mood disorders	8.9	11.8	10.8	11.0	10.9	9.8	8.2	8.4
Organic mental disorders	2.1	4.6	3.7	3.2	2.7	2.3	1.9	1.9
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	1.1	4.5	2.2	1.7	1.5	1.2	1.0	0.8
Other	2.1	6.9	5.0	3.6	3.2	2.5	1.8	1.6
Neoplasms	1.1	3.1	1.8	1.3	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.1
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Circulatory system	3.1	1.9	1.9	1.8	2.1	2.5	3.0	3.7
Digestive system	0.5	1.1	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Genitourinary system	0.5	2.3	1.2	0.9	0.8	0.6	0.4	0.4
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	62.9	33.7	48.9	55.1	57.6	61.4	65.4	64.5
Nervous system and sense organs	5.4	9.9	8.2	7.2	6.5	5.8	5.1	5.0
Respiratory system	1.3	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.9	1.1	1.4	1.6
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Other	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Unknown	1.2	1.5	1.4	1.6	1.3	1.2	1.1	1.2
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Workers' Compensation and Public Disability Benefit file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: FRA = full retirement age; (X) = suppressed to avoid disclosing information about particular individuals; (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 2016
Diagnostic group	Total		Men		Women
Diagnostic group	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All disabled workers	513,496	100.0	312,593	100.0	200,903	100.0
Congenital anomalies	239	(L)	126	(L)	113	0.1
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases	7,763	1.5	3,992	1.3	3,771	1.9
Infectious and parasitic diseases	3,077	0.6	2,475	0.8	602	0.3
Injuries	33,056	6.4	24,714	7.9	8,342	4.2
Mental disorders
Autistic disorders	42	(L)	32	(L)	10	(L)
Developmental disorders	96	(L)	62	(L)	34	(L)
Childhood and adolescent disorders not elsewhere classified	73	(L)	43	(L)	30	(L)
Intellectual disability	4,029	0.8	3,053	1.0	976	0.5
Mood disorders	45,800	8.9	21,058	6.7	24,742	12.3
Organic mental disorders	10,833	2.1	8,072	2.6	2,761	1.4
Schizophrenic and other psychotic disorders	5,557	1.1	3,652	1.2	1,905	0.9
Other	10,897	2.1	5,652	1.8	5,245	2.6
Neoplasms	5,772	1.1	3,095	1.0	2,677	1.3
Diseases of the—
Blood and blood-forming organs	335	0.1	172	0.1	163	0.1
Circulatory system	15,688	3.1	11,517	3.7	4,171	2.1
Digestive system	2,767	0.5	1,706	0.5	1,061	0.5
Genitourinary system	2,724	0.5	1,870	0.6	854	0.4
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue	322,855	62.9	199,559	63.8	123,296	61.4
Nervous system and sense organs	27,974	5.4	13,993	4.5	13,981	7.0
Respiratory system	6,867	1.3	4,019	1.3	2,848	1.4
Skin and subcutaneous tissue	511	0.1	270	0.1	241	0.1
Other	470	0.1	212	0.1	258	0.1
Unknown	6,071	1.2	3,249	1.0	2,822	1.4
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.