Disability Law Claims Blog

Disability Rates Expected to Increase Among Baby Boomers

People might be living longer than they did years ago, but the extra time is not always filled with good health. According to recent findings, those in the generation getting ready to retire soon are plagued with more disabilities than previous retirees.

This discovery might indicate a higher chance of baby boomers accepting disability payments from the SSA, at least until retirement age. It is surprising because medical care is much better than it was several years ago, making the results of the study quite puzzling.

According to The Los Angeles Times, a few factors are considered to be behind the issue. They include the fact that there are now more of the following:

• Stroke survivors that still have negative side effects
• Victims of heart attacks that survived but are in bad health overall
• People who are considered obese

Clearly, a few different issues could be to blame for the general increase in disability rates. In general, nonwhites and those who are obese displayed the highest rate of disability among those studied.

The study observed how well subjects in their 60s and 70s could walk, perform household duties, walk up stairs, and other menial tasks that occur daily for most people. Interestingly, those in their 80s had lower rates of disability, while the rate for people in their 70s stayed the same, and those in their 60s had a higher rate than ever.

Since the SSA is already overloaded with those who need disability payments, the findings are worrisome. Despite more access to medical help, including Medicare and Medicaid for many seniors, it appears that more people will need the help of disability checks in the near future.

The good news is that there is still time for things to change. Not only can seniors partake in physical therapy and healthy diets to get their life back on track, but younger people can also change learn from this older generation's health problems. Due to rising rates of obesity among the younger population, there is more awareness of the issue. Hopefully this can lead to big changes, resulting in fewer disability cases as the current middle-aged Americans get older.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida disability lawyers, LaVan & Neidenberg, represent over 5000 disability claimants. Our disability attorneys have experience with cross examining agency-appointed medical and vocational experts and take time when speaking with you about your disability claim. Call us today at 1-888-234-5758 for a FREE legal consultation. There is NO OBLIGATION to hire our firm and there are NO FEES unless one of our trained disability lawyers wins your case.