Population Trends Paper

As I went through the first week or so of the internship, I started noticing a trend for our clients: many of them were older in age and had lower education levels. This idea sparked my interest and thus I began to explore what types of demographic characteristics would make someone more likely to be accepted as a client and win their disability case. But before delving into the specifics of our clients, more research into the nature of the social security system was necessary. Demographics of a population can have quite the effect on the United States social security system and even the amount of funding available for the program. The task of issuing benefits and the systems problems are both attributed to economic factors. (Schmähl). Our economy is often …show more content…
These factors can both influence the age structure of our population, and thus have an impact on the social security system. (Ricardo-Campbell) . High fertility can lead to an increase in birth rates, causing large cohorts. Such as the baby boomers, large cohorts can lead to a greater number of citizens in the work force, but also a great number who will begin to approach advanced age all at the same time. This can put a strain on the social security system as the size of the working class who is paying into the system decreases in relation to the advanced age population. ("The Effect on Population Structure of Fertility, Mortality and Migration."). When it comes to mortality, people are starting to live longer lives, however many of these older years are spent living in poor health. As a result, we see a greater need for social security benefits: both retirement and disability. It is important to have a basic understanding as to how such demographics impact the social security systems funding before being able to analyze how the system may be selective towards applicants of certain ages and educational