Disability statistics
This page was last updated on March 28, 2018.
Millions of working Americans are facing a growing crisis: a lack of adequate disability insurance coverage. Today, the absence of emergency savings, rising medical costs, and an overall trend of fewer employers offering benefits to workers has created a critical blind spot for many American workers and their families. Without some kind of income protection, more Americans are experiencing severe financial difficulty if they need to miss work due to illness, injury, or pregnancy.
A lack of adequate disability coverage.
At least 51 million working adults in the United States are without disability insurance other than the basic coverage available through Social Security1.
Only 48 percent of American adults indicate they have enough savings to cover three months of living expenses in the event they’re not earning any income2.
Almost half of American adults indicate they can’t pay an unexpected $400 bill without having to take out a loan or sell something to do so3.
Chances of missing work due to illness, injury, or pregnancy are greater than most realize.
More than one in four of today’s 20-year-olds can expect to be out of work for at least a year because of a disabling condition before they reach the normal retirement age4.
5.6 percent of working Americans will experience a short-term disability (six months or less) due to illness, injury, or pregnancy on average every year5. Almost all of these are non-occupational in origin6.
The most common reasons for short-term disability claims are7:
Pregnancies (25%)
Musculoskeletal disorders affecting the back and spine, knees, hips, shoulders, and other parts of the body (20%)
Digestive disorders, such as hernias and gastritis (7.8%)
Mental health issues including depression and anxiety (7.7%)
Injuries such as fractures, sprains, and strains of muscles and ligaments (7.5%)
The most common reasons for long-term disability claims are8:
Musculoskeletal disorders (29%)
Cancer (15%)
Pregnancy (9.4%)
Mental health issues including depression and anxiety (9.1%)
Injuries such as fractures, sprains, and strains of muscles and ligaments (9%)
The consequences are alarming.
A 2014 study of consumer bankruptcy filings identified the following as primary reasons: medical bills (26%), lost job (20%), illness or injury on part of self or family member (15%)9.
A 2013 study of bankruptcy filings in Washington state found that cancer patients were 2.65 times more likely to go bankrupt than people without cancer, with younger (under age 50) cancer patients having the highest rates of bankruptcy10.
https://disabilitycanhappen.org/disability-statistic/