National Disability Law Firm Heard & Smith Applauds New Article by the Center for American Progress Calling SSDI a “Lifeline to Millions of Americans”

San Antonio, TX (PRWEB) July 24, 2014

Heard & Smith, a national disability law firm that concentrates on the disabled and the injured, is applauding a new article published by the Center for American Progress (CAP) on its website that is affirming Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as "a lifeline to millions of Americans."

Written by Rebecca Vallas, Associate Director of CAP's Poverty to Prosperity Program, and Shawn Fremstad, Senior Fellow at CAP and Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington D.C, the article, which was published to the CAP's website on July 8, 2014, makes several important fact-based points, including:

   •  SSDI plays a key role in boosting economic security for beneficiaries, with 80% relying on it as their primary or only source of income
   •  SSDI offers a level of protection that most people could never afford on the private market
   •  Most SSDI beneficiaries are elderly and had physically demanding jobs
   •  Many beneficiaries suffer from multiple disabling conditions – a fact that is poorly captured by Social Security's data
   •  Many beneficiaries are terminally ill and die within 5 years of receiving benefits
   •  Key drivers of the SSDI program's growth include: aging population, increase in women's labor market participation, and population growth
   •  Eligibility conditions are tough and less than 40% of applicants are approved for benefits

"Social Security Disability Insurance has been a core pillar of our nation's Social Security system for nearly six decades, offering critical protection to nearly all American workers and their families in the event of a life-changing disability or illness," Vallas and Fremstad conclude. "It is a lifeline to millions of Americans, providing critical economic security when it is needed most. Congress has many options to ensure long-term solvency of the overall Social Security system over the next 20 years."

"Contrary to what some people believe – including some so-called pundits who would like to either dismantle the SSDI program and make it prohibitively inaccessible to millions of American workers – people earn the right to collect SSDI; it is not and has never been a handout," commented Joshua C. Eyestone, an experienced SSD lawyer in Heard & Smith's Social Security Disability practice group. "And that is why we applaud the Center for American Progress on this balanced, non-partisan and fact-based new article. By highlighting this research, we hope that more people – including policy-makers -- will understand that SSDI benefits are not a privilege; they are a right that American workers and the families are entitled to."

For more information, contact Joshua C. Eyestone at jeyestone(at)heardandsmith(dot)com or 210-820-3737.

About Heard & Smith L.L.P.

Heard & Smith helps thousands of clients each year get the disability benefits they are entitled to. The national disability law practice group at Heard & Smith represents deserving clients in all 50 states. Heard & Smith specializes in representing the disabled in Social Security Disability (SSD), and Veterans (VA) Disability matters.

Learn more at http://www.heardandsmith.com/

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Heard-and-Smith/SSDI/prweb12040700.htm