Workplace Injuries and Receipt of Benefits From Workers' Compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance

Abstract

We examine whether workers who experience permanently disabling injuries covered by workers' compensation (WC) end up on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and whether Social Security Administration (SSA) seems to offset WC payments for permanently disabling injuries against SSDI benefits, when appropriate. Methods: We capture data on WC benefit receipt from the Health and Retirement Study and link it to SSA data on WC and SSDI recipients to study descriptive information on these questions. Results: We find that SSA seems to be missing data on WC benefits for a sizable share of recipients of WC benefits and that the frequency with which SSDI benefits are reduced because of the WC offset seems surprisingly low. Conclusions: For a variety of reasons, WC benefits for permanently disabling injuries may not be appropriately offset against SSDI benefits, possibly shifting the cost of these workplace injuries to SSDI.