Decline In Earnings Prior To Disability Claims

     This is from DI & SSI Program Participants: Characteristics & Employment, 2015, which Social Security recently released.

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     Note that disability usually does not arise like a thunderclap just before a claim is filed with Social Security. There is often a period of declining work activity that extends back several years. Illness sneaks up on people. They think they'll get better and often they do but sometimes their health just keeps declining as they age. People are not eager to file Social Security disability claims. They try to put it off as long as possible. By the time they file a claim, they're often at the end of their rope physically, mentally and financially.