Public Use Files

The National Beneficiary Survey (NBS) Round One Public Use File (released September 2009)
The National Beneficiary Survey is a component of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) evaluation of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (TTW). The survey, sponsored by SSA’s Office of Retirement and Disability Policy and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research (MPR), collected data from a national sample of Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries and a sample of TTW participants. MPR conducted interviews using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).  For beneficiaries who did not respond to the CATI interview or who preferred or required an in-person interview, MPR followed up using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). MPR completed interviews with 6,520 individuals in the national sample of beneficiaries and 1,083 individuals in the sample of TTW participants, for a total of 7,603 interviews completed in both samples. The weighted response rate for the national sample of beneficiaries was 77.5 percent. The weighted response rate for the TTW participant sample was 80.9 percent.

The National Beneficiary Survey (NBS) Round One Public Use File (released September 2009)

On this page:

•      Contact Information

•      Background

•      Available Information

Contact Information
For additional information, contact Dr. Paul O’Leary at (202) 358-6227 or e-mail paul.oleary@ssa.gov.

Background
As part of an evaluation of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (TTW), Mathematica Policy Research (MPR) conducted the first round of the National Beneficiary Survey (NBS) in 2004. The survey, sponsored by the Social Security Administration‘s (SSA) Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, included a national sample of SSA disability beneficiaries (the Representative Beneficiary Sample) and a sample of Ticket to Work (TTW) participants (the Ticket Participant Sample). MPR collected data using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) with computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) follow ups for CATI non-respondents and those who preferred or required an in-person interview to accommodate their disabilities.

The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 authorized TTW.  TTW is a voluntary employment program for Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities. The legislation was designed to create market-driven services to help disability beneficiaries become economically self-sufficient.  Under the program, SSA provides disability beneficiaries with a “Ticket” or coupon, that they may use to obtain employment-support services, including vocational rehabilitation, from an approved provider of their choice (called Employment Networks or ENs).

SSA implemented the TTW program in three phases spanning three years, with each phase corresponding to about one-third of the states. The initial NBS survey design called for four national cross-sectional surveys (called rounds) of Ticket-eligible SSA disability beneficiaries— one each in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007—and cross-sectional surveys of Ticket participants in each of three groups of states (Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 states)—defined by the year in which the program was rolled out.  In addition, the design called for the first TTW participant cohort in each group of Ticket roll-out states to be followed longitudinally until 2006. MPR subsequently revised this design to postpone the final round to address the experiences of TTW participants under new TTW regulations, which SSA implemented in July 2008.

MPR fielded two surveys in round 1 (2004): the first national survey of all beneficiaries (the Representative Beneficiary Sample) and the first cross-sectional survey of Ticket participants in the Phase 1 states (the Ticket Participant Sample).

The NBS is intended to meet five key objectives: 1. Provide critical data on the work-related activities of SSDI and SSI beneficiaries, particularly as they relate to TTW implementation; 2. Collect data on the characteristics and program experiences of beneficiaries who use their Tickets; 3. Gather information about beneficiaries who do not use their Tickets, and the reasons they do not; 4. Collect data that will allow SSA to evaluate the employment outcomes of Ticket users and other SSDI and SSI beneficiaries; and 5. Collect data on service use, barriers to work, and perceptions about TTW and other SSA programs designed to help beneficiaries with disabilities find and keep jobs. 

Though some sections of the NBS target beneficiary activity directly related to TTW, most of the survey captures more general information on SSA beneficiaries, including their disabilities, interest in work, use of services, and employment. As a result, SSA and external researchers interested in disability and employment issues can use the survey data for other policymaking and program-planning efforts.

Sample members in both the Representative Beneficiary Sample and the Ticket Participant Sample received the same survey instrument. The NBS collects data on a wide range of topics including employment, limiting conditions, experience with SSA programs, employment services, health and functional status, health insurance, income, and socio-demographic information. The survey instrument and other technical documents related to the NBS are available from SSA or MPR upon request.

Available Information
The public use file below is only for the Representative Beneficiary Sample for round one.  The Ticket Participant Sample for round one is not part of this public use file.  A relatively small proportion of SSA beneficiaries participated in the TTW program for round one, and, as a result, the sampling rate for the Ticket Participant Sample was quite high.  For this reason, SSA’s OPDR Disclosure Review Board believes releasing the participant sample would pose an unacceptable risk of disclosure for this portion of NBS survey participants.

Documentation. The following NBS documentation file is provided in PDF format:
NBS R1 PUF Codebook.pdf                   
Data File. The following NBS data file is provided in SAS 9.1 format:
r1puf093009.sas7bdat