$13,500 on Social Security

The average annual benefit to people collecting disability through Social Security was about $13,500 in 2008.

Factoids

319 teachers

As of May, 319 of the 52,508 retired teachers statewide were on accidental disability, or 0.6 percent.

Private sector numbers

Private sector employees contribute 6.2 percent of their gross pay to Social Security and their employers contribute another 6.2 percent. Self-employed workers contribute 12.4 percent.

About 75 percent of U.S. police, firefighters and EMTs prehypertension or hypertension, according to a 2008 study published in the American Journal of Hypertension. The study attributed the numbers to several factors including the physical and emotional stresses of the job and obesity rates.

Social Security differs in Mass.

Massachusetts is one of the 15 states in which public employees don’t pay into Social Security and don’t collect it. People who contributed to Social Security while working in the private sector then went into the public sector, lose as much as 55 percent of their Social Security benefit if they are also collecting a public pension.

Private sector funds Social Security

Most private sector employees – about 55 million nationwide – rely on defined contribution retirement plans, in which they are responsible for managing their money and there is no guaranteed benefit, to supplement Social Security.

401(k) matching drops

The number of private employers who match their employees’ contributions to 401(k) plans is shrinking. Those that still do typically contribute 50 cents for each dollar contributed up to the first 6 percent of an employee’s pay.

Social Security disabilities

Social Security paid disability benefits to more than 9 million people in 2008, about 90 percent of them were considered disabled workers. Mental disorders was the diagnosis for about a third of the people considered unable to work.

Workers pay 9% on average

The average state worker pays 9 percent of his or her salary and the state kicks in more than $1 billion per year to pay for about 12 percent of public employee retirement benefits. The remainder is paid for with pension fund returns.

Paying into the system

Depending on when they were hired, public sector employees in Massachusetts contribute between 5 and 12 percent of their pay into the local or state retirement system. Since 1979, public employees have contributed at least 7 percent plus 2 percent on any earnings over $30,000. Since 1996, they’ve contributed at least 9 percent plus 2 percent on any earnings over $30,000.

10 of 39 in Quincy

In Quincy, from June 2003 through June 2008, the rate for police was 26 percent – 10 out of 39 officers retired on accidental disability.