{ "id": "R41289", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R41289", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 442528, "date": "2014-01-23", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:43:47.527480", "title": "Disability Benefits Available Under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Veterans Disability Compensation (VDC) Programs", "summary": "Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Veterans Disability Compensation (VDC)\u2014administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) respectively\u2014are two of the largest federal disability programs, but strongly differ along several dimensions, including the populations served, how each program defines a \u201cdisability,\u201d as well as varying eligibility requirements.\nFirst, SSDI is an insurance program that replaces a portion of earnings for an eligible worker whose illness or injury\u2014while not necessarily caused by a work-related incident\u2014results in an inability to work. SSDI is one of several federal programs funded through the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll tax and the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) tax to which all workers and employers in covered occupations (including military personnel) and self-employed individuals make contributions. On the other hand, VDC is not insurance, but is a compensation program in that payments are made to veterans who develop medical conditions that are related to their service in the military. VDC is non-contributory and neither veterans nor active military personnel pay into the program, which is funded through a mandatory appropriation as part of the VA annual budget.\nSecond, while the purpose of both SSDI and VDC is to provide income security, SSDI provides a financial \u201csafety-net\u201d to eligible civilian and military workers due to their inability to work as a result of long-term or terminal injury or illness. Conversely, VDC provides veterans with tax-free, cash benefits specifically for service-connected illnesses or injuries. The ability to work is not factored into VDC disability determinations, although additional compensation is available for veterans who are unemployable as the result of a service-connected condition(s).\nThird, SSDI only compensates workers who are fully disabled, whereas VDC compensates veterans for both partial and fully disabling injuries and illnesses. The VA is further guided by a principle that views disability compensation as an obligation, owed to veterans, for injuries affecting employment that were incurred or aggravated by their service to the country. SSDI benefits are granted solely on medical and economic grounds and other noneconomic factors are not considered. Eligibility requirements generally tend to be more stringent for SSDI than VDC, and most veterans, even if qualified for VDC, will not likely meet the criteria for both programs.\nBoth SSA and the VA have faced challenges in the administration of benefits and have been criticized for a lack of interagency coordination, processes that are \u201cout-of-sync\u201d with modern conceptions of disability, and extensive processing delays for claims and appeals. These issues led, in part, to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation and determination of federal disability programs as \u201chigh risk.\u201d Both agencies have made efforts to address issues surrounding pending claims and appeals, but differ in their responses to other recommendations.\nThis report provides a description and comparative analysis of the SSDI and VDC programs. These issues will be of particular interest to Congress because of the expected increase in the numbers of SSDI and VDC claims. The recent economic decline and aging baby-boomers have continued to place a strain on SSA\u2019s resources. The aging of the veteran population and expansion of presumptive conditions policies have contributed to the increase in VDC claims.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41289", "sha1": "fc9c1b7cb06c50981c5f7729e5fce4cafa2d811f", "filename": "files/20140123_R41289_fc9c1b7cb06c50981c5f7729e5fce4cafa2d811f.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41289", "sha1": "ecad866cd3112e7c911970ae05038d61473b3822", "filename": "files/20140123_R41289_ecad866cd3112e7c911970ae05038d61473b3822.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2912, "name": "Disability Rights and Benefits" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc122200/", "id": "R41289_2012Sep12", "date": "2012-09-12", "retrieved": "2012-11-30T09:28:34", "title": "Disability Benefits Available Under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Veterans Disability Compensation (VDC) Programs", "summary": "This report seeks to clarify why one group of individuals with disabilities may be eligible for benefits under Veteran's Disability Compensation (VDC), but ineligible for benefits under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) (and vice versa), through a description and comparison of several distinguishing characteristics of the SSDI and VDC programs. This report concludes with a discussion of the challenges facing the administration of both programs, including processing delays for pending claims and appeals.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120912_R41289_19f18055e679958a85770de0f96bca28a2c0c8c2.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120912_R41289_19f18055e679958a85770de0f96bca28a2c0c8c2.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Social security", "name": "Social security" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Disability insurance", "name": "Disability insurance" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Veterans' benefits", "name": "Veterans' benefits" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Veterans' disability compensation", "name": "Veterans' disability compensation" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811813/", "id": "R41289_2011Aug08", "date": "2011-08-08", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Disability Benefits Available Under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Veterans Disability Compensation (VDC) Programs", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110808_R41289_1dea4e57314ff29406ef0ec4ee58958b7f9c5495.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110808_R41289_1dea4e57314ff29406ef0ec4ee58958b7f9c5495.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc491464/", "id": "R41289_2010Jun17", "date": "2010-06-17", "retrieved": "2015-01-27T19:40:46", "title": "Disability Benefits Available Under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Veterans Disability Compensation (VDC) Programs", "summary": "This report seeks to clarify why one group of individuals with disabilities may be eligible for benefits under Veteran's Disability Compensation (VDC), but ineligible for benefits under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) (and vice versa), through a description and comparison of several distinguishing characteristics of the SSDI and VDC programs. This report concludes with a discussion of the challenges facing the administration of both programs, including processing delays for pending claims and appeals.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20100617_R41289_b6addde432cfdcff7f989a75cca53a3aab1bbc7b.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20100617_R41289_b6addde432cfdcff7f989a75cca53a3aab1bbc7b.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Social security", "name": "Social security" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Disability insurance", "name": "Disability insurance" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Veterans' benefits", "name": "Veterans' benefits" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Veterans' disability compensation", "name": "Veterans' disability compensation" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Domestic Social Policy" ] }