Social Security Disability Insurance

Recent proposals regarding Social Security Disability Insurance range from increasing the substantial gainful activity level established for the program's blind beneficiaries to eliminating it completely. These proposals, if enacted, would likely increase beneficiaries' work effort but would raise program costs and could widen the differences in the program's treatment of blind and nonblind beneficiaries. Raising the level for blind persons could result in calls to increase it for nonblind persons, leading to significantly higher program costs and adverse effects on the solvency of the Social Security trust fund. Eliminating the level would fundamentally alter the purpose of the program. Other changes to work incentives being implemented or tested are likely to increase beneficiaries' work without changing the nature of the program.

GAO noted that: (1) higher SGA levels have been established for blind beneficiaries primarily on the basis of the assumption that certain adverse economic consequences associated with blindness are unique; (2) few empirical studies have compared the work-related experiences of blind individuals with those of people who have other disabilities; (3) however, the studies that GAO reviewed showed many disabled individuals--blind and nonblind--face adverse employment circumstances; (4) although raising SGA levels for the blind--or even eliminating them--could encourage more blind beneficiaries to work, such changes would perpetuate differences in the treatment of blind and nonblind beneficiaries and could slightly worsen the Social Security trust funds' financial outlook; and (5) moreover, eliminating the SGA level, by removing the connection between benefit eligibility determination and the inability to work, would fundamentally alter the purpose of the DI program.