How Do DI Benefits for Uncovered Public Workers Compare to SSDI?

The brief’s key findings are:

• Roughly one quarter of state and local workers are not covered by Social Security and get their disability insurance (DI) from their current employer.
• To compare these state and local DI programs to Social Security, the Center created a new dataset – for public use – on eligibility standards and benefit provisions.
• The analysis finds that most state and local DI programs provide relatively generous protection.
• Specifically, these programs require only that workers are incapable of performing their current job, while Social Security requires inability to perform any job.
• And they provide most long-tenured employees – those most at risk of experiencing a disability – with higher benefit replacement rates.