Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program that individuals should be able to count on if they have worked hard and then suddenly aren’t able to because of an injury or illness.
Unfortunately, this disability program is often thought of as a handout instead of as a program that you’ve paid into. Another issue is that getting approved for these benefits is often a challenging process that can drag on for prolonged periods.
One point tA new bill, known as the Social Security 2100 Act, is aiming to change up the program a bit because it is known that funding for SSDI is being slated to fall short in the coming decades. There are good points and bad to the bill, depending on your view of the situation.
That stands out in it is that some individuals might see a raise in their benefits. SSDI isn’t designed to replace your full income. Instead, it replaces a portion of it.Typically, payments are around 80% of income for people in the lowest income quintile. That is expected to increase to more than 95% if the bill passes. This is much more than the 70% to 80% replacement rate that is recommended by most advisors.
Another point to know is that the working people in this country will be paying out more in taxes for the program. The rate increase would help to cover the increases in benefits to disabled individuals. Ultimately, this bill would increase the Social Security payroll tax and remove the current income cap on what earnings are able to be taxed.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on what happens with this bill as it ventures through the legislature. For now, however, applicants should expect that things remain status quo.