Kentucky Injury Lawyers Blog

Social Security is the major source of income for most of the elderly.
• Nine out of ten individuals age 65 and older receive Social Security benefits.
• Social Security benefits represent about 40% of the income of the elderly.

Social Security provides more than just retirement benefits.
• Retired workers and their dependents account for 69% of total benefits paid.
• Disabled workers and their dependents account for 18% of total benefits paid.
• Almost 3 in 10 of today's 20 year-olds will become disabled before reaching age 67.
• Survivors of deceased workers account for about 13% of total benefits paid.
• About one in seven of today's 20-year-olds will die before reaching age 67.

An estimated 159 million workers, 94% of all workers, are covered under Social Security.
• 52% of the workforce has no private pension coverage.
• 31% of the workforce has no savings set aside specifically for retirement.

In 1935, the life expectancy of a 65-year-old was about 12 years, today it is 18 years.

By 2034, there will be almost twice as many older Americans as today--from 39.9 million today to 74.6 million.

There are currently 3.2 workers for each Social Security beneficiary. By 2034, there will be 2.1 workers for each beneficiary.

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced in August that the agency has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to test the use of Microsoft's HealthVault application in the disability process.  HealthVault is a free online service that enables people to gather, store and manage their families' health information, and share that information with their physicians and healthcare providers.  These personal health records contain the same types of information that Social Security generally obtains from people applying for disability benefits.

"The use of personal health records holds great promise for ensuring that the medical information we collect from someone applying for disability benefits is accurate and complete," Commissioner Astrue said.  "Combined with other advancements in health information technology, our use of HealthVault should result in faster decisions for disability applicants.  I look forward to working closely with Microsoft, a world-wide leader in information technology."

Social Security and Microsoft are developing a technical prototype connecting the two organizations that will be available later this year.  The agency also will collaborate with Microsoft to study current personal health record standards, gaps in those standards, and options for filling those gaps