The December 2022 SSD benefits statistics report from the Social Security Administration (SSA) is now available. Each month, the SSA issues a statistical snapshot showing how pay and beneficiary numbers changed during the last 30 days. That way, people currently getting disability benefits can compare their payments with the national average. We’ll include the latest data for both federal programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
December 2022 SSD Benefits Statistics Report
Total Number of Social Security Disability Beneficiaries: 8,841,000
Disabled Workers: 7,604,000
Spouses of Disabled Workers: 91,000
Children of Disabled Workers: 1,146,000
Average Monthly Social Security Disability Benefit Amount: $1,340.86
Disabled Workers: $1,483.10
Spouses of Disabled Workers: $408.42
Children of Disabled Workers: $470.77
How the December 2022 SSD Benefits Statistics Report Affects Beneficiaries
Total beneficiaries in the December 2022 SSD benefits statistics report fell by 36,000 since last month. Disabled workers made up most of those losses (-34,000), but spouses and children lost 1,000 beneficiaries each:
While the number of people getting SSD benefits continues to decline, it’s also a great time to apply. Why? Because the SSA approves thousands of new SSD claims every month. Here’s how many new people the SSA awarded payments in the December 2022 SSD benefits report:
- 46,672 disabled workers (25,146 men and 21,526 women)
- 2,170 spouses of disabled workers (227 husbands and 1,943 wives)
- 20,011 children of disabled workers
And here are 2022’s final SSD benefit approval statistics for the year:
- 45,287 disabled workers awarded benefits each month, on average
- 543,445 total SSD claims approved in 2022
- 30% of SSD claims filed in the last year got benefits
Upon review, 2022 shows the lowest SSD claim approval rates during the past 15 years. The SSA awarded SSD benefits to less than 1 in 3 people who applied in 2022.
December 2022 SSD Benefits Statistics: Looking Deeper at the Monetary Stats
Now, the most exciting news from our December 2022 SSD benefits statistics report: Massive monthly raises for every group! Husbands and wives got the smallest pay bump this month, getting $32.45 more in December. Children got a $38.43 monthly benefit raise compared to November. Average payments to disabled workers shot up $118.82 per month this holiday season. Once totaled, these increases brought the average monthly SSD payment nationwide up $107.26 for December:
Finally, here are the average SSD pay amounts for people awarded benefits this month:
- $1,684.98/month for disabled workers ($1,853.44/month for men, and $1,488.19/month for women)
- $431.56/month for spouses ($392.68/month for husbands, and $436.10/month for wives)
- $1,184.92/month for children
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Numbers in the December 2022 Report
Next, let’s look at how many people get SSI and pay amounts in the December 2022 SSD benefits statistics report. Every group of people on SSI benefits got smaller this month except for seniors aged 65 and older:
Total SSI beneficiaries: 7,542,000 (-24,000)
Children younger than 18 on SSI: 997,000 (-8,000)
SSI recipients aged 18-64: 4,196,000 (-20,000)
SSI recipients aged 65+: 2,349,000 (+5,000)
December 2022’s average SSI pay amounts broken down by age group are as follows:
- $622 per month (all people on SSI nationwide, averaged)
- $732 per month for children
- $659.81 per month for those aged 18-64
- $508.01 per month for seniors aged 65 and older
You May Qualify for Legal Assistance
The SSA is nearly 3x more likely to award you benefits when a Social Security attorney files your claim. Most people who qualify for claim help through this site get at least $13,000 in lump-sum backpay plus monthly payments.
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Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.