New issue brief: “Why Do State Disability Application Rates Vary Over Time?”

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has released a new Issue in Brief:

Why Do State Disability Application Rates Vary Over Time? by Norma B. Coe, Kelly Haverstick, Alicia H. Munnell, and Anthony Webb

The brief’s key findings are:

• Application rates for federal Disability Insurance (DI) have risen since the late-1990s.

• The economy is a key driver: rising unemployment and declining labor force participation lead to higher DI application rates.

• Interestingly, states with strict health insurance regulations have lower application rates, a finding that merits further exploration.

The brief is available here.