JSIT22-01: Disability Determination, Employment Histories, and Age at First SSI Receipt

The disability criteria used to determine Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility varies by age. For people under age 65, SSI is a means-tested disability program; for people aged 65 and older, the disability requirements are eliminated, and SSI becomes a retirement income supplement. Prior to age 65, the disability requirements for SSI are relaxed every five years beginning at age 45. This paper aims to add to the small body of literature on the role of age in the disability determination process by focusing on the most vulnerable group of Social Security Administration beneficiaries: SSI recipients. Using integrated administrative data from Washington state (2010 through 2017), this paper quantifies the changes in SSI uptake that follow each age-based change in the disability rules from age 45 through age 65. For the thresholds with the greatest changes, I examine the population characteristics, employment histories, and public assistance use patterns of people who first received SSI two years before and after each age threshold. I find substantial increases in SSI enrollment following the relaxation of disability rules at age 50, age 55, and age 65. Compared to the younger thresholds, increases in SSI receipt following the end of the disability requirements at age 65 may be more easily explained by observed differences in employment and population characteristics. There are few observed differences in the population characteristics, employment histories, and public assistance use patterns surrounding the age 50 and age 55 thresholds despite the increase in SSI participation immediately following these thresholds.