THE BENEFIT RECEIPT PATTERNS AND LABOR MARKET EXPERIENCES OF OLDER WORKERS WHO WERE DENIED SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INSURANCE BENEFITS ON THE BASIS OF WORK CAPACITY.

UNITED States. Social Security Administration; DISABILITY insurance; LABOR market; RELATIONSHIP marketing

This article examines the experiences of Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) applicants aged 51 or older who were initially denied benefits because the disability examiner determined that they could perform either their past work or other work. We use Health and Retirement Study survey data linked to administrative data on benefit application and receipt and earnings from the Social Security Administration. We find that few older DI applicants who were denied benefits on this basis resumed work at a substantial level following denial. More commonly, applicants denied at this stage continued to pursue benefits, often successfully. Nearly two-thirds of initial work capacity-related denials were ultimately allowed DI benefits after appealing the initial decision or reapplying, and our estimates suggest that many of the rest claimed Old-Age and Survivors Insurance benefits before they reached full retirement age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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