Section 12 Social Insurance and Human Services This section presents data related to governmental expenditures for social In Brief welfare; governmental programs for old- In 1993, households below poverty age, survivors, disability, and health in- level receiving: surance (OASDHI); governmental em- Medicaid 49% ployee retirement; private pension plans; Food stamps 35% government unemployment and tempo- rary disability insurance; Federal supple- Social Security beneficiaries, 1993: mental security income payments and Total 42 million aid to the needy; child and other welfare Retired workers 26 million services; and Federal food programs. Also included here are selected data on workers’ compensation, vocational reha- workers. Disability benefits are payable bilitation; child support; child care; charity to an insured worker under age 65 with a contributions; and philanthropic trusts prolonged disability and to the disabled and foundations. worker’s dependents on the same basis as dependents of retired workers. Dis- The principal sources for these data ability benefits are provided at age 50 to are the Social Security Administration’s the disabled widow or widower of a de- quarterly Social Security Bulletin and the ceased worker who was fully insured at Annual Statistical Supplement to the So- the time of death. Disabled children, cial Security Bulletin which present cur- aged 18 or older, of retired, disabled, or rent data on many of the programs. Cur- deceased workers are also eligible for rent data on employment security are benefits. A lump-sum benefit is generally published annually in the Department of payable on the death of an insured work- Labor’s Unemployment Insurance, Fi- er to a spouse or minor children. For in- nancial Data. Statistics on aid to families formation on the Medicare program, see with dependent children (AFDC) are section 3. presented in the U.S. Administration for Retirement, survivors, disability, and hos- Children and Families’ annual publica- pital insurance benefits are funded by a tion, Quarterly Public Assistance Statis- payroll tax on annual earnings (up to a tics. maximum of earnings set by law) of workers, employers, and the self- Social insurance under the Social employed. The maximum taxable earn- Security Act.—Programs established by ings are adjusted annually to reflect in- the Social Security Act provide protection creasing wage levels (see table 592). against wage loss resulting from retire- Effective January 1994, there is no dollar ment, prolonged disability, death, or un- limit on wages and self-employment in- employment, and protection against the come subject to hospital insurance tax. cost of medical care during old age and Tax receipts and benefit payments are disability. The Federal OASDHI program administered through Federal trust funds. provides monthly benefits to retired or Special benefits for uninsured persons; disabled insured workers and their de- hospital benefits for persons 65 and over pendents and to survivors of insured with specified amounts of Social Security workers. To be eligible, a worker must coverage less than that required for cash have had a specified period of employ- benefit eligibility; and that part of the cost ment in which OASDHI taxes were paid. of supplementary medical insurance not A worker becomes eligible for full bene- financed by contributions from partici- fits at age 65, although reduced benefits pants are financed from Federal general may be obtained up to 3 years earlier; revenues. the worker’s spouse is under the same limitations. Survivor benefits are payable Unemployment insurance is presently to dependents of deceased insured administered by the U.S. Employment 372 Social Insurance and Human Services and Training Administration and each transferring to FERS during 1987. There State’s employment security agency. By are separate retirement systems for the agreement with the U.S. Secretary of La- uniformed services (supplementing bor, State agencies also administer un- OASDHI) and for certain special groups employment compensation for eligible of Federal employees. State and local ex-service members and Federal government employees are covered for employees, unemployment assistance the most part by State and local retire- under the Disaster Relief Act of 1970, ment systems similar to the Federal civil and workers assistance and relocation service retirement system. In many allowances under the Trade Act. Under jurisdictions these benefits supplement State unemployment insurance laws, OASDHI coverage. benefits related to the individual’s past earnings are paid to unemployed eligible Workers’ compensation.—All States workers. State laws vary concerning the provide protection against work-con- length of time benefits are paid and their nected injuries and deaths, although amount. In most States, benefits are pay- some States exclude certain workers able for 26 weeks and, during periods of (e.g., domestic help). Federal laws cover high unemployment, extended benefits Federal employees, private employees in are payable under a Federal-State pro- the District of Columbia, and longshore- gram to those who have exhausted their men and harbor workers. In addition, the regular State benefits. The basic benefit Social Security Administration and the can vary among States by over 100 per- Department of Labor administer “black cent. Some States also supplement the lung” benefits programs for coal miners basic benefit with allowances for depen- disabled by pneumoconiosis and for spe- dents. cified dependents and survivors. Speci- fied occupational diseases are compen- sable to some extent. In most States, Unemployment insurance is funded by a benefits are related to the worker’s Federal unemployment tax levied on the salary. The benefits may or may not be taxable payrolls of most employers. Tax- augmented by dependents’ allowances able payroll under the Federal Act and or automatically adjusted to prevailing 12 State laws is the first $7,000 in wages wage levels. paid each worker during a year. Forty- one States have taxable payrolls above Public aid.—State-administered public $7,000. Employers are allowed a per- assistance programs (Aid to Families centage credit of taxable payroll for con- with Dependent Children (AFDC), emer- tributions paid to States under State un- gency assistance and general assis- employment insurance laws. The tance) and the Federal Supplemental remaining percent of the Federal tax fi- Security Income (SSI) program adminis- nances administrative costs, the Federal tered by the Social Security Administra- share of extended benefits, and ad- tion provide benefits to persons who vances to States. About 97 percent of qualify. AFDC and emergency assis- wage and salary workers are covered tance are in part federally funded while by unemployment insurance. the costs of general assistance are met entirely with State and local funds. The Retirement Programs for Government SSI program replaced Federal grants for Employees.—The Civil Service Retire- aid to the aged, blind, and disabled in the ment System (CSRS) and the Federal 50 States and the District of Columbia in Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) 1974. Residents of the Northern Mariana are the two major programs providing Islands became eligible in 1978. Federal age and service, disability, and survivor grants continue for aid to the aged, blind, annuities for Federal civilian employees. and disabled in Guam, Puerto Rico, and In general, employees hired after De- the Virgin Islands. The SSI program pro- cember 31, 1983, are covered under vides a minimum income for the aged, FERS and the social security program blind, and disabled and establishes uni- (OASDHI), and employees on staff prior form national basic eligibility require- to that date are members of CSRS and ments and payment standards. Most are covered under Medicare. CSRS em- States supplement the basic SSI pay- ployees were offered the option of ment. Social Insurance and Human Services 373 Federal Food Stamp program.—Under services are aided through Federal the Food Stamp program, single persons grants to States for child welfare ser- and those living in households meeting vices, vocational rehabilitation, activities nationwide standards for income and as- for the aged, maternal and child health sets may receive coupons redeemable services, maternity and infant care proj- for food at most retail food stores. The ects, comprehensive health services, monthly amount of coupons a unit re- and a variety of public health activities. ceives is determined by household size For information about the Medicaid pro- and income. Households without income gram, see section 3. receive the determined monthly cost of a nutritionally adequate diet for their Noncash benefits.—The Bureau of the household size. This amount is updated Census annually collects data on the to account for food price increases. characteristics of recipients of noncash Households with income receive the dif- (in-kind) benefits to supplement the ference between the amount of a nutri- collection of annual money income data tionally adequate diet and 30 percent in the Current Population Survey (see of their income, after certain allowable text, section 1 and section 15). Noncash deductions. benefits are those benefits received in a form other than money which serve to To qualify for the program, a household enhance or improve the economic well- must have less than $2,000 in dispos- being of the recipient. As for money in- able assets ($3,000 if one member is