- Great differences compared to the general population are noted depending on the status of SS Disability application. 
- 52.3% of the general population earned more than $1,870 in the last month of the census. 
- 6.6% received SS, 13.5% were denied. SSI Beneficiaries had the lowest percentage of individuals with earnings over $1,870.
- Other Public or Private Beneficiaries had percentages (earning above $1,870) similar to that of the general population, 51.6%.
- SS Denied individuals have a non-trivial percentage of individuals with minimum earnings. 
- 23.3% have earnings above $1,040 (Substantial Gainful Activity). This is twice as high as for beneficiaries but still much lower than that of the general population.
- A significant minority of the SS Denied group has a connection to the workforce.

Earnings Outcomes of Different Social Security Disability Groups

- SS Denied individuals experience a high level of poverty (38%) and material hardship (43%).
- SS Beneficiaries have relatively lower poverty and material hardship rates compared to SS Denied individuals. 
- Other Public or Private Beneficiaries and general population groups have relatively low rates of poverty and material hardship. 

University of Notre Dame

The data collected reflects the outcome of a comparative analysis of the socioeconomic, economic, healthcare impacts between SS and SSI groups. 

Main Analysis of Weaver's Study

Weaver, D. A. (2020). Social Security disability benefits: Characteristics of the approved and denied populations. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 32(1), 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207320933538 

Social Security Disability Benefits: Characteristics of the Approved and Denied Populations

- SS Denied, SS Beneficiaries, and SSI Beneficiaries have high percentages  of persons who have no obtained a HS diploma, live in the South, and are black.
- 1 in 5 SS beneficiary applicants have less than a HS education, compared to 1 in 9 in the general population.
- 1 in 4 denied applicants are black (1 in 5 for applied, 1 in 9 for general population).
- The three named groups are also older on average and less less likely to be married.
- "Other Public or Private Beneficiaries" individuals resemble percentages of the general population and are most likely of the categories to have graduated HS.

Demographic and Socioeconomic Information on Different Social Security Disabiliy Groups

Economic Well-Being of Different Social Security Disability Groups

- 27.3% of SS Beneficiaries were hospitalized, while 53.7% had more than 5 visits to a medical provider. 21.1% of SS Denied individuals were hospitalized, while 41.9% had more than 5 visits to a medical provider.
- The general population, in comparison, had 6.9% hospitalizations and 15.5% provider visits.
- These numbers are significant considering the denied group is least likely to have health insurance.
- Based on self-reported health, 6.9% of the general population reports fair or poor health. The denied group comes to 50% and beneficiaries come to 62.5%. 
- Health care utilization and self-reported health stats estimate that SS Denied individuals may have better health than beneficiaries, but, overall, both groups face significant challenges. 
- "Other Public or Private Beneficiaries" individuals fall under a "middle population, that has better health than SS denied and beneficiaries, but overall poorer health than the general population. 

Health Measures Across Different Social Security Disability Groups 

Weaver touched on further analyses concerning subpopulations of the denied SS group, health limitations, SS beneficiaries, and more. 

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