It seems our friends on Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) are in trouble. A 20% pay cut is looming for 2016 if action is not taken. 11 million disabled Americans are on SSDI, including my sister. The income is already meager at best and disabled individuals need assistance from other sources just to live.  “The need for action now is no surprise, but stems from long-term demographic trends including an aging workforce now in its disability-prone years and an increase in work by women that has led to an increase in women’s eligibility for Social Security under SSDI.” (CCD)

SSDI pays $38 a day. Can you imagine living on $38 a day? For 1 in 3 beneficiaries of SSDI, this is their only income. This is nearly half the minimum wage. In a time when cost-of-living grows by the day our most vulnerable Americans will be asked to live on $30.40 per day. This is an outrage. Simply reallocating money from Social Security to SSDI is the solution. In fact this reallocation would not even affect Social Security  beneficiaries under the retirement plan or the survivors insurance (OASI). There is enough money to fund all of the programs if reallocation takes place through 2033.

Please help. Call or email your Senators today and ask them to support reallocation of funding to SSDI from Social Security.

Senators – https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
House of Representatives – http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) letter to Washington: http://www.c-c-d.org/fichiers/CCD-Letter-on-House-Rules–114th-01-15-15.pdf. Image from: www.reformssdinow.org.