Developing a Survey to Understand Barriers to Applying for Disability Insurance

Applications for SSDI and SSI benefits have been declining by more than expected for over a decade. There are few hypotheses for this decline. In this project, we will try to understand true and perceived barriers to applying for benefits by asking people with long-term disabilities about why they have or have not applied for disability benefits. While previous surveys have studied people’s understanding of how SSDI and SSI work, we have a limited grasp of the barriers to applying for benefits beyond knowledge about the program. This project will address that gap.