Disability and Employment

by Harriet Komisar, Don Redfoot, Carlos Figueiredo, Public Policy Institute, February 12, 2015

Older workers often experience career-altering disabilities that can affect their economic security as they near retirement.

People age 50+ are more than three times as likely as younger people to report having a disability. Based on data from the American Community Survey, 25% of people age 50+ experienced disabilities in 2012, compared with 7 percent of younger adults.
At ages 50-64, adults with disabilities are less than half as likely to be employed as those without disabilities.
People ages 50-64 with disabilities are much more likely to have low incomes than those without disabilities. Being employed significantly narrows the gap.

Read the full report: Disability and Employment (PDF)

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