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

Abstract

In this article, the authors use linked survey and administrative data to identify Social Security Disability Insurance applicants who received a denial at steps 4 and 5 of the Social Security Administration’s sequential evaluation process for disability determination. The authors document the denied applicants’ demographic characteristics and the characteristics of the occupations they held before application and track their post-denial benefit receipt, employment, and earnings patterns.

Keywords: Disability Insurance, Disability Determinations, Early Retirement, Disability Beneficiary Employment and Earnings, Disability Applicants, Denied Claims

JEL Classification: H55, J14