A rebound in the U.S. economy may have reduced use of long-term disability (LTD) insurance benefits in 2013.
The Council for Disability Awareness (CDA), an industry group, found that the 19 LTD carriers it surveyed approved about 150,000 new LTD claims in 2013 — 5.7 fewer than they approved in 2012.
See also: New LTD claim approvals drop.
The total number of people getting LTD benefits from the carriers fell 3 percent, to 653,000.
Both the number of new claims approved and the number of beneficiaries dropped to the lowest level since 2009, when the Great Recession hit the job market hard.
See also: Returning to a brick wall.