Social Security is a huge administration that provides retirement and disability benefits to millions of Americans every month. Sometimes the programs Social Security offer can be confusing and many people don’t know anything about Social Security besides they pay taxes to the administration and they will get some sort of retirement when they get older.
In an effort to get to know Social Security better here are five questions and answers about one of the disability programs to improve your Social Security IQ.
What is FICA?
The abbreviation of FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act. This tax is directly taken out of your paycheck by your employer to help fund three of Social Security’s benefit programs including retirement insurance, disability insurance and survivor insurance.
How many people are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and what is the average monthly benefit?
According to the Social Security Administration, about 8,575,500 people are currently receiving SSDI benefits. The average monthly benefit paid to SSDI recipient as of 2013 is $1,132.
How man workers pay into Social Security?
Considering that more than 8 million people are collecting just SSDI it is important to have enough people paying into the system to sustain Social Security programs. Social Security estimates that between 156 and 159 million workers make payments to the Social Security Trust Funds. This includes the worker who is self employed as well as the one in an employer/employee relationship.
How much would I receive if I am approved for SSDI?
This is common question and really only Social Security can answer this question. The answer to this question used to be indicated on periodic Social Security statements. Since the Social Security Administration has stopped mailing statements the only way to access this information without contacting Social Security is through the administration’s website at http://www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
Are there more males or females who receive SSDI?
More males receive SSDI, 4.49 million compared to 4.08 million females, but the number of females receiving SSDI is growing faster that males. The average age of an SSDI recipient is 52.
