An illness or injury can interrupt earnings long before retirement. Review how your household would meet essential costs during a qualifying disability.
Understand the statistic
The Social Security Administration’s 2025 fact sheet estimates that about one in four of today’s 20-year-olds will become disabled and entitled to Social Security disabled-worker benefits before age 67. That is a population estimate, not an individual prediction or a guarantee of private-policy eligibility.
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Work out the actual shortfall
Compare essential expenses with income and benefits that would remain. For illustration, 60 percent of $75,000 annual earnings is $45,000 a year, or $3,750 monthly before any applicable tax. Against $5,500 of expenses, that leaves $1,750 before tax effects and other income.
Read employer and individual benefits
Check the definition of disability, monthly cap, waiting period, benefit duration, exclusions, and offsets. Employer benefits may change when employment ends. Two policies do not necessarily pay their full amounts on top of each other.
Coordinate with savings
Map when benefits could begin and what resources cover the waiting period. Social Security and private plans have different eligibility rules. Ask about your actual documents instead of assuming a diagnosis automatically produces payment.
Further reading: Consumer guidance. Explore our Money 101 guides.
Source: SSA 2025 fact sheet.
Further reading: North Carolina Department of Insurance disability guide.