Asset holdings of the newly disabled: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey

About 3 out of 4 new disabled-worker beneficiaries or their spouses owned some type of financial asset in 1982, but the median value of these assets was quite small, according to data obtained by the Social Security Administration in its New Beneficiary Survey. A smaller majority reported owning their own homes, and home equity accounted for most of the reported wealth. Barely a tenth reported that they owned farms, businesses, or commercial property. Differences in age and marital status within the newly disabled population were associated with large differences in asset holdings. Married couples and older disabled workers generally were more likely to own each kind of asset, and generally reported higher values for these assets. Older married men--the largest subgroup among the disabled--are also relatively well-off, though their median asset portfolios were worth only +3,600 when home equity was excluded. Younger single men, the third largest subgroup, reported median total assets worth less than +50, however home equity was treated. The asset ownership rates and median values reported by the new disabled-worker beneficiaries are much lower for every type of asset considered than the rates and values reported by a comparable sample of new retired-worker beneficiaries.