Waiting to Benefit: Age-Based Disability Regulations and Pathways to Supplemental Security Income Take-Up in Later Life

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is an important resource for low-income older adults and people with disabilities. Age-based disability determination criteria may play a role in determining who gets SSI and when. Social Security Administration regulations relax disability requirements every 5 years of the lifespan, starting at age 45, until federal statute eliminates the disability eligibility requirement at age 65. Using linked administrative microdata from Washington state, I test whether these age thresholds are associated with discontinuities in SSI take-up. Then, I identify patterns of employment, homelessness, and public assistance use among SSI recipients in the 5 years prior to SSI take-up. I find discontinuous increases in SSI take-up at ages 55 and 65. Two-thirds of older SSI recipients were detached from the formal labor force in the 5 years prior to SSI take-up, and 40 percent experienced at least 1 quarter of homelessness. Together, these findings suggest that the age-based disability rules act as gatekeepers, delaying access to SSI.