Here is a recent news item showing the scope of the employee disability problem.
In a nutshell:
There are more disabled employees than ever. As of May 2014, the total number of Social Security disability beneficiaries in the United States hit an all-time high of about 11 million beneficiaries.
But fewer employees are covered with long term disability coverage. The number of U.S. workers with long-term disability coverage decreased 6% from 2009-2013.
From 2009-2013:
- fewer employers are offering long term disability coverage: down from 220,000 to 214,000
- fewer employees have long term disability coverage: down from 34 million to 32.1 million
- more total number of employees in the U.S. workforce: up 6.6 million
An excellent article out of the July 17, 2014 Portland Press Herald summarizes the issue. http://www.pressherald.com/2014/07/17/employers-dropping-long-term-disability-coverage/