A new proposal from the Trump Administration to change Social Security could cause hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to lose their eligibility. When you apply for disability benefits, a number of factors are taken under consideration before a claim is granted. This includes factors such as extremity of condition, work experience, education, and age.
The Trump Administration is now said to be preparing a proposal to have age removed as a factor in determining eligibility for disability benefits. As per the current policy, applicants aged 50 and above are evaluated using criteria relative to age. If the Trump Administration’s proposal is approved, the age threshold will be moved up to 60. Here is what you need to know.
What is the government planning with regards to SSDI benefits?
SSDI, or Social Security Disability Insurance, is a type of benefit paid out to qualifying individuals by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSDI program functions similarly to the retiree benefit of Social Security. This means that the applicant will need to have paid into the Social Security payroll tax throughout their working career so as to earn work credits.
“SSDI is an integral part of Social Security. It provides essential benefits to workers who cannot support themselves through earnings due to severe and long-lasting disabilities that significantly impede their ability to work, and it helps to prevent beneficiaries and their families from experiencing poverty,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) wrote.
Currently, age is taken under consideration for individuals aged 50 and older when applying for SSDI benefits. This is because age is often treated as a limiting factor at a number of jobs, therefore hindering the individual’s ability to find work. The Trump Administration’s proposal will have the age threshold moved from 50 to 60. This would cause a 20% cut to Social Security disability, making it the biggest cut in the history of the program.
”It would be even larger than the Reagan-era disability cuts, which the Reagan Administration was forced to reverse amid fierce opposition from governors, courts, beneficiaries, and advocates,” the CBPP noted.
Repercussions of restricting disability benefits
In addition to SSDI benefits, the SSA also pays to beneficiaries the Supplemental Security Income, or SSI benefit. The SSI benefit is a type of welfare benefit that is paid to individuals with little to no other resources often as a result of being unable to work due to having a disability. SSI recipients typically qualify automatically for Medicaid, while coverage for SSDI recipients kicks in after two years.
If the age threshold for disability is increased to 60, around 750,000 people would be cut from the program. The CBPP also writes that, “research shows applicants whose impairments are not severe enough to qualify for SSDI fare poorly in their attempts to return to work — especially if they’re older. Rejecting more older applicants will cause more hardship for people who would be eligible for benefits under the existing rules.”
In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, a similar proposal had been drafted to “no longer assume age seriously affects a person’s ability to adapt to simple, entry-level work” and “raise the age at which education and work experience are considered in determining eligibility to 55, from 50.” This proposed draft was also said to change the way the SSA considers education when evaluating applications.
During the presidential campaign trail in 2024, Donald Trump made repeated promises to protect Social Security. If this proposal comes to pass, this promise will be broken since hundreds of thousands of vulnerable seniors will at risk of losing their eligibility which will in turn cause them to lose Medicaid coverage.
“Restricting eligibility for disability benefits will make it more difficult for rejected applicants to access other key supports, such as food assistance, which has increasingly strict time limits for most non-elderly individuals without younger children who are not receiving disability benefits. New Medicaid work requirements could also pose significant impediments to people who lose disability benefits,” as per the CBPP.