Social Security

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Abbey Dean is the Director of Content at Mployer Advisor. Abbey is an award-winning editor and writer with more than 10 years of experience in print and digital media across B2B and B2C platforms. A versatile journalist and content creator, she has worked for local newspapers, small-city magazines, daily news websites, and award-winning print publications including the Oxford American and American Spirit. She he has also led successful digital content marketing campaigns for manufacturing and healthcare professionals through the creation of webinars, e-books, newsletters, blog posts, and videos.

Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME)

Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) is a term used by the Social Security Administration to determine a person's retirement benefits. The AIME is calculated by taking the average of a person's highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for inflation. 

Currently Insured

In insurance, currently insured refers to an individual whois covered by an insurance policy and has paid the required premiums to maintain their coverage. Here are some key features of currently insured in insurance:

FICA Taxation

FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act, which is a law that requires employers and employees to contribute to the SocialSecurity and Medicare programs in the United States. The FICA tax is a payroll tax that is automatically deducted from employees' paychecks and paid by their employers to fund these programs.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal program that provides benefits to individuals who are unable to work due to a disability. Here are the key features of SSDI:

Social Security Disability Insured Status

Social Security Disability Insured Status refers to a person's eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits based on their work history and Social Security taxes paid.

Social Security Fully Insured

"Social Security Fully Insured" refers to a person's eligibility for certain Social Security benefits based on their work history and Social Security taxes paid. Here are the key features of beingSocial Security Fully Insured:

Social Security Partially Insured Status

"Social Security Partially Insured Status" refers to a person's eligibility for certain Social Security benefits based on their work history and Social Security taxes paid. Here are the key features of beingSocial Security Partially Insured:

Social Security Total Disability 

"Social Security Total Disability" refers to a disability status under the Social Security Administration (SSA) that entitles individuals to receive disability benefits. Here are the key features of SocialSecurity Total Disability:

Next Up

According to Mployer Insights’ 2026 analysis of 76,000+ employer benefit plans, disability insurance remains a major market differentiator, with only 41% of U.S. employers offering short-term disability (STD) and 38% offering long-term disability (LTD). While 60% salary replacement serves as the national standard across both benefit types, standard plan designs disproportionately expose higher earners due to median benefit caps of $1,602/week for STD and $8,273/month for LTD. Furthermore, alignment between STD benefit durations (median 26 weeks) and LTD elimination periods (68% at 90 days) remains a critical area for plan structure optimization.
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According to Mployer Insights’ 2026 analysis of 50,000+ employer health plans, prescription drugs account for over 25% of total benefit expenses, with Tier 4 specialty drugs driving the majority of high-cost claims. While Tier 4 copays average $123 with coinsurance requirements in 31% of plans, individual oncology therapies like Darzalex Faspro ($170,800/yr) and Keytruda ($158,200/yr) frequently exceed average individual stop-loss deductibles ($141,938). To mitigate exposure, self-funded employers are increasingly turning to independent, transparent PBM models and biosimilar substitution—which yields up to a 73% net cost reduction per patient.