Mandatory Spending
Function 650 - Social Security
Eliminate Eligibility for Starting Social Security Disability Benefits at Age 62 or Later
CBO periodically issues a compendium of policy options (called Options for Reducing the Deficit) covering a broad range of issues, as well as separate reports that include options for changing federal tax and spending policies in particular areas. This option appears in one of those publications. The options are derived from many sources and reflect a range of possibilities. For each option, CBO presents an estimate of its effects on the budget but makes no recommendations. Inclusion or exclusion of any particular option does not imply an endorsement or rejection by CBO.
| Billions of dollars | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2015-2019 | 2015-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in Outlays | 0 | -0.1 | -0.3 | -0.5 | -0.8 | -1.1 | -1.4 | -1.8 | -2.1 | -2.5 | -1.7 | -10.6 |
Note: This option would take effect in January 2016. Estimates are relative to CBO’s August 2014 baseline projections.
Under current law, people are eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) until they reach the full retirement age, which is currently 66 and is scheduled to increase gradually beginning in 2017 for those born in 1955 until it reaches 67 for workers born in 1960 or later. (All years mentioned in this option are calendar years.) Under this option, workers would not be allowed to apply for DI benefits after their 62nd birthday or to receive DI benefits if they became eligible for benefits after that date. Under such a policy, individuals who would have become eligible for DI benefits at age 62 or later under current law would instead have to claim retirement benefits if they wanted to receive any Social Security benefits. Workers who claim retirement benefits at age 62 rather than at their full retirement age receive lower benefits for as long as they live. The savings estimated from this option do not include any effects of this option on spending for other federal programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.