Career paths prior to the recognition of a disability: effects on eligibility for disability benefits and the resources of people with disabilities

Context

Public policies on disability aim to guarantee the independence of people with disabilities in all aspects of life, which involves, amongst other things, ensuring a standard of living – and therefore sufficient income – for these individuals. For those whose disability arises during their working life, this provision has been designed, within the framework of the social security system, in the form of insurance against loss of earning capacity during their career, through the disability pension scheme. However, this system appears to be inadequate, both in terms of the proportion of the population covered and the level of income provided, leading many people with disabilities to have to rely on minimum social benefits, notably through the Adult Disability Allowance (AAH). Furthermore, disability pensions cease at the statutory retirement age, which raises the issue of the pension amounts paid to people with disabilities once they have passed the age of ‘working life’.

Presentation

The main objective of the research project is to improve our understanding of the life courses of people who acquire a disability during their working lives, focusing in particular on their career paths prior to the onset of the disability (or at least prior to its official recognition) and how this determines the type and level of benefits to which they are entitled, both in the short term (during their working lives) and in the longer term (in retirement). Our main hypothesis is that the health problems giving rise to the disability do not necessarily have a ‘sudden’ impact on careers, but may, on the contrary, manifest themselves more gradually, progressively eroding the employment situations of those affected, even before they apply for or meet the disability criteria required to be eligible for the various benefits (disability pension or AAH). The course of a person’s career prior to the administrative recognition of their disability can therefore have a significant influence on the benefits to which they are entitled, given the conditions attached to these various benefits, and can have a major impact on their income throughout their lifetime.

Research Team

This project is led by the pole Pensions.

Coordinator: Patrick Aubert

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Method and Data

Data matching Event study

The project is based on the recent availability of previously unpublished statistical databases, which, for the first time, provide a highly detailed understanding of the career paths and income trajectories of a large sample of the French population. These databases have been created by cross-referencing DREES samples on recipients of old-age pensions, disability pensions and minimum social benefits (EIR, EIC and ENIACRAMS) with INSEE’s panels on employment and income declared to the tax authorities (the ‘All Employees’ panel and the EDP panel).

The analysis will be largely descriptive (providing a detailed description of trajectories, including the period prior to receiving a disability pension or the AAH), but a more causal approach will also be employed, using ‘event studies’ to measure the impact of exogenous health ‘shocks’. We will also utilise dynamic microsimulation techniques to simulate the impact of changes to the eligibility rules and calculation methods for disability and old-age pensions on people’s standard of living. These simulations are intended, in particular, to help inform the decisions of institutional stakeholders and to propose improvements to ensure a better standard of living for people with disabilities.

Context

Presentation

Research Team

Method and Data

Partners