Trump Administration Weighs Tighter Requirements for Disability Payments

The Trump administration is devising a plan to tighten eligibility mandates for disability benefits, especially for older Americans, as part of a wider initiative to reduce federal safety-net programs, reports the Wall Street Journal . The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) seeks to amend eligibility for disability benefits based on age, education, and work experience, and more than 8 million Americans are currently beneficiaries. "Evidence shows that in the modern economy the vocational impacts of age, education, and work experience are markedly different from what they were when we published the current vocational regulations," states the text of the draft rule. The new rule would raise the age at which education and work experience are considered in determining eligibility from 50 to 55, and update information on occupational skills that the SSA agency uses to determine eligibility, based on new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "They're chipping away at all of these various programs," said Kathleen Romig with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "The sum total of it just makes it more difficult for people to meet their needs when they fall on hard times — really basic needs like housing, food, healthcare, and income."