Oh the poor companies ! When an employee gets hurt on the job , thy pay out a little work comp, then let the taxpayers take care of the employee forever thru SS disability payments . What a raw deal !
The I in SSDI stands for INSURANCE. You pay the premium, you collect the benefits according to the terms of the policy. Unfortunately, for the taxpayers, lawyers have found so many loopholec in the government SSDI policy, it is being seriously abused.
First, it's not a premium. I can refuse to pay premiums. And insurance companies do not send people with guns to your home, and drag your butt off to jail, if you refuse to pay your premiums. It's not a premium... it's a TAX. You doubt that? Refuse to pay it for a bit, and see who shows up. It's not an insurance agent asking if you would like to reinstate your policy. It's the IRS. If the IRS ever shows up because you didn't pay something, it's not a "premium"... it's a TAX. PERIOD
Second, the "terms of the policy" are insane. You can say it's benefits, but in the real world, you don't lose your benefits for things outside the scope of a policy.
For example, name one insurance policy that you forfeit your benefits, if you didn't work long enough? Where's that policy? Real insurance, if you pay the premiums, and you become disabled, then you get the money. The insurance company does not show up and say "Oh, you only worked 3 years. You had to work 5 years. You get nothing now".
If I end up in a car crash, and end up with my arm chopped off, I'll get some insurance money. If I find employment that doesn't require that arm.... do I magically lose my insurance money for losing the arm? No, you don't.
With government, which is not running an insurance program, but rather a welfare program.... you do. You lose your 'benefits'. It's a welfare program, not insurance.
It's just like Social Security. Name one retirement fund, that you forfeit your retirement if you earn too much working? Name one!!! ONE!!! Give me ONE EXAMPLE! You can't. None of you can. Because real retirement funds, and real insurance policies, never act that way.
Both work exactly like Welfare. The harder you work, the less you get, and it's actually worse than that, because while you are working, you are paying taxes into these programs, to provide benefits you are forfeiting. No other company would punish you by forcing you to pay premiums, in order to not get benefits.