SENATORS COLLINS, HASSAN INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO ALLOW DISABLED AMERICANS TO RECEIVE DISABILITY INSURANCE DURING WAITING PERIOD

The following information was released by Maine Senator Susan Collins:

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced bipartisan legislation to address a pressing and unnecessary hardship in the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. The We Can't Wait Act would allow disabled claimants would have a choice: they could opt to begin receiving benefits immediately after approval, rather than waiting five months, in exchange for a modest, actuarially sound reduction in their monthly benefit amount.

Current law imposes a mandatory five-month waiting period after the Social Security Administration determines that a person is disabled and eligible to receive SSDI benefits. During those five months, no payments are made, even though the disability has already been confirmed. This delay prevents individuals from accessing the insurance they have earned at a critical time. A 2020 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examined the severe consequences of long wait times for applicants who appealed initial denials. This report found that between Fiscal Years 2014 and 2019, approximately 48,000 individuals filed for bankruptcy while awaiting a final decision on their appeals, and from Fiscal Years 2008 through 2019, an estimated 109,725 people died before receiving a final decision.

"This bipartisan legislation is a straightforward, compassionate, and fiscally responsible step forward," said Senator Collins. "It respects the financial integrity of the SSDI program while providing a crucial option to hardworking Americans who simply cannot wait even five months for the benefits they have worked for and desperately need."

"People diagnosed with a terminal disease or other serious disability should not be forced to wait five months to start receiving the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits that that they earned while working," said Senator Hassan. "This bipartisan bill is a commonsense way to give people an option to receive their Social Security Disability benefits more quickly, without increasing the cost for the federal government. I will continue working to help people who experience disabilities access the resources that they need."

Specifically, the We Can't Wait Act:

gives eligible individuals with disabilities the option to bypass the current five-month waiting period and receive the benefits they have earned without further delay;

maintains the actuarial balance in the SSDI Trust Fund over the 75-year projection period; and

makes no other changes to SSDI does not alter eligibility criteria, the determination process, or benefit levels for those who choose not to bypass the waiting period.

In 2019, Senator Collins cosponsored the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act, which eliminated the five-month waiting period before ALS patients could receive the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits they earned by contributing to Social Security. This bill was signed into law in 2020.

Senator Collins introduced a prior version of the We Can't Wait Act with former Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in 2023.