From the Associated Press:
Two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty coming up with the money to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to an exclusive poll released Thursday ...
Seventy-five percent of people in households making less than $50,000 a year would have difficulty coming up with $1,000 to cover an unexpected bill. But when income rose to between $50,000 and $100,000, the difficulty decreased only modestly to 67 percent.
Even for the country's wealthiest 20 percent — households making more than $100,000 a year — 38 percent say they would have at least some difficulty coming up with $1,000.
10 comments:
Bit of a stretch to use this article as an excuse to carp about SSDI. It's not like private LTD insurance policies don't have waiting periods.
People are awful at saving money for a rainy day, but reducing waiting periods would deincentivize savings even further. It would be prohibitively expensive to baby-proof every area of life against a lack of basic financial literacy.
A lot of Americans are going to be shocked in retirement. If they can ever truly retire that is.
I've never understood why the five-month waiting period exists. Unlike other parts of SSD that, while I may not agree with, I do understand their reasoning. Why not pay the claimant for the first five months where he/she has already proven disability? Is it as simple as a money-saving mechanism?
@2:30
It is a money saving/affordability mechanism.
Except for a small percentage of Americans saving money only prolongs the inevitable for a person with a long term disability. On becoming disabled work income is lost but the bills keep coming, quickly reducing savings. If you want to keep your work health insurance you get socked with enormous premiums that can quickly drain what's left. Once you can't afford even that then welcome to the plight of the uninsured. Medical debt can quickly lead even a once wealthy person to bankruptcy. Savings are good because they can sometimes tide a person through a short term disability. Social Security is not concerned with short term disabilities though.
It never made sense to me that folks who are approved for SSDI have to wait for Medicare. I mean they are disabled and therefore need doctors - but yet they have to wait 2 years.
The 5-month waiting period is, for many, more like a 7 or 8-month waiting period. The first month doesn't count unless your onset date is the first day of the month, because it has to be a full month. Also, you are paid for the month of entitlement after the fact. For example, if you become disabled on May 2nd, your waiting period is June through October. November is your first month of eligibility, which is paid in December. If you're unlucky enough to have a birthday toward the end of the month, your check for November will come on the 4th Wednesday of December. So, even if you are fortunate enough to have six months of income saved, due to this waiting period, and additional medical expenses, you will be destitute before you get your first check - even if your claim is approved on day 1.
All the waiting periods are a way for the SSA to save money. Plain and simple. But they will never admit it.
The Medicare waiting period is borderline criminal.
The comments above overlook the fact that there is no waiting period for SSI benefits or the Medicaid benefit that comes with it.
Two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty coming up with the money to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to an exclusive poll released Thursday
Just what the payday loan companies love to hear.
Comments about the waiting periods for SSA disability and Medicare seem to come from those who think SSA sets the waiting periods. They are set by Congress. So rather than harp on SSA to change them, contact your Senator or Congressman. I believe the waiting period used to be 6 months, but that was many, many years ago.
A few states have State Disability Insurance which have short waiting periods.
Just like retirement, disability benefits are not meant to be the only form of income should a person become disabled.
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