Recent data from the Social Security Administration reveals that there was a decrease of 20,000 workers receiving Social Security Benefits in May compared to the previous month.
In April, 7.25 million disabled workers were receiving benefits, which slightly dropped to around 7.23 million in May. This represents about 11% of disabled workers receiving an average monthly support of $1,540 from the government.
The reasons behind the decline in beneficiaries are unclear. Historically, benefits for disabled workers have been terminated due to factors like death, recovery from medical conditions, or employment-related recovery.
Additionally, benefits for disabled widows, children, and adult disabled children could cease if certain circumstances change, such as marriage or increased entitlement to larger benefits.
Notably, different criteria are applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients when determining benefit termination.
It’s important to note that SSI beneficiaries who are blind or disabled adults at the age of 65 do not face medical recovery-based benefit termination. Similarly, SSI benefits are not discontinued due to engaging in significant gainful activities.
According to the agency, SSI children with disabilities undergo a redetermination when they turn 18 to assess if they meet adult disability standards. Failure to meet these standards may result in termination of benefits for approximately one-third of SSI disabled children at age 18.
In May, the Social Security program saw an increase in overall participants, with a majority of new entrants being retirement benefit recipients. The total number of individuals assisted by the agency rose from 72.23 million in April to 72.35 million in May. Out of these recipients, 65 million received Social Security Benefits, with 4.9 million also receiving Supplemental Security Income. When combined, a total of 2.5 million individuals were beneficiaries of both programs.
Prior to the recent update, there were 64.8 million Social Security recipients and 4.92 million SSI beneficiaries, with a combined total of 2.5 million individuals benefiting from both programs.