Research Paper
Trends in disability and program participation among U.S. veterans

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Abstract

Background

Disability is increasingly part of the lives of veterans and more research is needed to understand its impact on veterans' participation in disability benefit programs.

Objective/hypothesis

We examine how recent trends in receipt of service-connected disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compare to trends in self-reported disability and participation in Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) among veterans.

Methods

We use 2002–2013 data from the Current Population Survey to describe trends in receipt of VA disability compensation and to compare between trends in self-reported disability and DI/SSI participation for veterans versus nonveterans.

Results

The percentage of veterans reporting they receive VA disability compensation increased substantially from 2002 to 2013 and was especially notable among younger (ages 18–39) and older (ages 50–64) veterans. From 2009 to 2013, self-reported disability increased among the younger and older veterans but not among middle-age veterans and nonveterans, and self-reported cognitive disability increased substantially among young veterans. DI/SSI participation among older veterans increased more than for nonveterans over the period examined.

Conclusions

Effective policies are needed to incentivize work among young veterans and to help them obtain both the skills they need to succeed in the labor force and the supports (such as psychiatric health services) they need to do so. Older veterans are facing increasing challenges in the labor market, and further research is needed to determine whether these challenges are primarily related to health, a growing skills gap, or poorly-aligned incentives.

Section snippets

Data

The CPS, sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, is a monthly survey of households primarily used to produce monthly labor force, unemployment rate, and related estimates for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population.18 The CPS follows each housing unit for 16 months. A housing unit is in the sample for four consecutive months, then leaves the sample for eight months, and then returns for another four consecutive months. A sample of

Age composition

Since 2002, the population of veterans ages 18–64 has been shrinking while the nonveteran population ages 18–64 has been growing (Table 1). In general, veterans are older than nonveterans. More than a third of veterans in any year are in the 55–64 age group, which is more than double the percentage in that age group among nonveterans. In more recent years, among those ages 18–64, the age distributions of the veteran and nonveteran populations have been changing in opposite directions (Table 1).

Discussion

The percentage of veterans receiving VA disability compensation has risen substantially since 2002, especially among those ages 18–39 and 55–64. The former are mostly veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the latter are mostly veterans of the Vietnam War. These trends cannot be explained by within-group aging or changes in the composition of veterans in terms of sex, race/ethnicity, or region.

Many factors may have contributed to these trends, and it is difficult to distinguish

Acknowledgment

The authors appreciate the assistance of Stephanie Boraas for helpful comments on the analysis.

References (21)

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This study was supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education, through its Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics grant to Kessler Foundation (Grant No. H133B120006). The contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and one should not assume endorsement by the federal government (Education Department General Administrative Regulations 75.620 [b]). The authors are solely responsible for any errors or omissions.

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