The average monthly Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) payment is $938, replacing on average, about 33% of current income (Source: The Council of Disability Insurers, The Long Term Disability Claims Review: 2005) 
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Each year, 1 person in 8 will suffer disability (Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners) READ MORE
Disability Insurance News
October 14, 2007: Disability can Wreck Finances
Unexpected and devastating, a disabling illness or injury can destroy a family's finances and is the most common reason cited for both bankruptcy and home foreclosure, according to an Oct. 14, 2007, article in the Los Angeles Times."[1]
Today the rate of disability is soaring, thanks to an aging population, increasingly stressful working conditions, rising obesity and medical advances that can keep badly injured people alive but unable to return to work.
The government reports that the rate of Social Security disability claims soared over the last two decades to more than 4 percent of the adult population, up from 2.2 percent in the 1980s.
Roughly three in 10 workers will have an injury or illness at some point during their careers that keeps them out of work for three months or more, according to the Council for Disability Awareness.[2] And one in seven can expect to be disabled for five years or more.
"Disability among the American workforce is on the rise," said Robert Taylor, president of the council, a nonprofit funded by disability insurers. "But the working population is not prepared and not preparing."
The council recommends examining your own finances to determine if you need short-term disability insurance. If you believe your finances would be stretched to a breaking point by a disabling illness or injury lasting six months to a year, you should consider buying a short-term disability insurance policy, Taylor said.
But many experts say you need long-term disability coverage -- no matter who you are.
"I would advise anybody who has access to it at work to buy a long-term disability policy," said Sherry Sherman, who couldn't return to work more than a year after a car accident.
References
- Kristof, Kathy. "Disability can Wreck Finances," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 14, 2007. http://www.disabilitycanhappen.org/news/Disability_Can_Wreck_Finances.pdf
- www.disabilitycanhappen.org
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