Disability Insurance After 50: Is It Still Worth Buying?

If you are over 50 and wondering whether disability insurance is still worth buying, you are asking the right question. The answer is not simple because two competing forces are at work. Your risk of becoming disabled increases with age, which means you are more likely to need coverage. But premiums are also significantly higher at 50 than at 30, which means the coverage costs more. The right decision depends on your savings, your income, your existing coverage, and how many working years you have left.

This guide walks through the factors you should weigh, including the true cost of coverage after 50, when buying still makes financial sense, and when you might be better off self-insuring with savings instead.

Disability Risk Increases After 50

The probability of experiencing a disability rises with each decade of life. Workers in their 50s and 60s face higher rates of musculoskeletal conditions, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other chronic illnesses that can prevent them from working. The Social Security Administration's data shows that disability incidence increases significantly in the years leading up to retirement.

This is not just about catastrophic accidents. The most common causes of long-term disability at any age are medical conditions like back disorders, joint problems, heart disease, diabetes complications, and mental health conditions. These chronic and degenerative conditions become more prevalent as you age, making the 50-to-65 window one of the highest-risk periods for disability in a worker's career.

The irony is that the time when you are most likely to need disability insurance is also the time when it costs the most. This creates a tension that requires careful analysis of your personal financial situation.

What Disability Insurance Costs at 50 and Beyond

Premiums for disability insurance at age 50 are roughly two to three times what they would have been at age 30. This is because insurance companies price in the higher probability of a claim at older ages. A 50-year-old office worker buying a $5,000-per-month benefit with a 90-day elimination period and coverage to age 65 might pay $250 to $500 per month, depending on health and insurer.

Several factors affect pricing at this age:

• Age: The primary cost driver. Each year older you are at purchase, the higher the premium.
• Health status: Pre-existing conditions are more common at 50, and they can increase premiums or result in exclusion riders. Conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, or prior back surgeries affect pricing.
• Benefit period: At 50, a benefit period to age 65 covers only 15 years. Shorter periods like 5 or 10 years can reduce costs significantly.
• Elimination period: Choosing a longer elimination period, such as 180 days instead of 90 days, can reduce premiums by 15 to 25 percent. This works if you have enough savings to cover the longer waiting period.

When Buying Disability Insurance at 50 Still Makes Sense

Despite the higher costs, disability insurance after 50 can be a smart investment in several situations. The key question is whether a disability would cause serious financial harm. If the answer is yes, coverage is worth considering regardless of age.

• You are 10 or more years from retirement: If you are 50 and do not plan to retire until 65, you still have 15 years of earning potential to protect. A disability during this period could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost income and derail your retirement savings.
• Your savings are not sufficient to self-insure: If your retirement savings, emergency fund, and other assets cannot support you for the remainder of your working years, you need income protection. Disability insurance prevents you from depleting savings that were meant for retirement.
• You have significant financial obligations: A mortgage, children's college expenses, or aging parent care costs do not pause for a disability. If your monthly obligations are high, a loss of income is more damaging.
• You have no employer coverage: If you are self-employed or your employer does not offer disability benefits, an individual policy is your only private safety net beyond SSDI.

When Self-Insuring May Be the Better Choice

Self-insuring means relying on your own assets and income sources instead of purchasing insurance. For some workers over 50, this approach makes more financial sense than paying high premiums for a relatively short coverage window.

• You have substantial savings: If your retirement accounts, investments, and emergency fund could replace your income for several years, you may be able to absorb the financial impact of a disability without insurance.
• You are close to retirement: If you are 60 or older and plan to retire at 65, the benefit period is short. Premium payments over five years may not be cost-effective compared to the potential benefit, especially if you have good savings.
• Your spouse has sufficient income: If your household could maintain its standard of living on your spouse's income alone, the need for disability insurance is reduced, though not eliminated.
• Your monthly obligations are low: If your mortgage is paid off, your children are financially independent, and your monthly expenses are modest, the impact of lost income is less severe.

SSDI as a Partial Safety Net After 50

Social Security Disability Insurance can serve as a partial safety net for workers over 50, and it has one advantage for older applicants. The SSA uses medical-vocational guidelines, often called the Grid Rules, that become more favorable as you age. Workers over 50 are more likely to qualify for SSDI because the SSA recognizes that older workers have less ability to retrain for new occupations.

However, SSDI still has significant limitations. The average monthly benefit in 2026 is approximately $1,630, which is far below what most workers earn. There is a mandatory five-month waiting period before benefits begin. And even with more favorable age rules, many applications are still denied initially. The appeals process can take months to years, during which you receive no benefits.

SSDI is best viewed as one component of a broader strategy, not the sole plan. If you combine SSDI with personal savings, reduced spending, and potentially a shorter-term private disability policy, you create a more complete safety net. For a deeper comparison, see our article on SSDI vs. private disability insurance.

Strategies to Reduce Costs at 50 and Beyond

If you decide that disability insurance still makes sense but the premiums feel steep, there are several strategies to bring costs down while maintaining meaningful protection:

• Extend the elimination period: Moving from a 90-day to a 180-day elimination period can cut premiums by 15 to 25 percent. Use your emergency fund or short-term savings to cover the longer waiting period.
• Shorten the benefit period: A 5-year or 10-year benefit period costs less than coverage to age 65. At age 55, a 10-year benefit period gets you to 65 at a lower premium. This is especially effective if you have retirement income that will kick in at 65.
• Reduce the benefit amount: Instead of replacing 60 to 70 percent of your income, consider a lower benefit that covers only your essential expenses. This reduces premiums while still preventing financial disaster.
• Skip optional riders: Cost-of-living adjustment riders add 10 to 20 percent to premiums. With a shorter potential benefit period at 50, the inflation impact is less significant. Dropping a COLA rider can save meaningful premium dollars.
• Choose any-occupation instead of own-occupation: If premium savings are the priority, an any-occupation definition costs 10 to 20 percent less. This trade-off is more acceptable if your skills transfer easily to other work.

Evaluating Your Existing Coverage

Before buying new coverage, take stock of what you already have. Many workers over 50 have disability protection they may not fully appreciate or may have gaps they have not noticed.

• Employer group LTD: Check your benefit percentage, the monthly cap, and whether the definition switches from own-occupation to any-occupation after 24 months. Also check for any age-related benefit reductions.
• Existing individual policies: If you purchased an individual disability policy years ago, review it. You may have a policy with favorable terms and lower premiums locked in from a younger age. Do not cancel an existing policy to buy a new one without comparing terms carefully.
• Social Security estimate: Check your estimated SSDI benefit on the SSA website. At 50, your earnings record is well established, and the estimate is more reliable than it was at a younger age.

Use these data points to calculate whether you have a coverage gap that justifies the cost of a new policy. Our guide on how much disability insurance you need includes a step-by-step calculation that accounts for existing coverage, monthly expenses, and your savings.

Protecting Retirement Savings from Disability

One of the most overlooked reasons to carry disability insurance after 50 is to protect your retirement savings. Without disability income, you may be forced to tap into retirement accounts early to cover living expenses. This creates a cascade of financial problems: early withdrawal penalties if you are under 59 and a half, lost investment growth from compounding, a smaller retirement nest egg, and potentially a reduced standard of living in retirement.

Consider this example: a 52-year-old earning $100,000 per year becomes disabled and has no disability insurance. To maintain her lifestyle, she withdraws $5,000 per month from her retirement accounts. Over five years until she reaches 57 and adjusts her plans, she withdraws $300,000 from savings that were growing and compounding. The long-term impact on her retirement is far greater than the cost of disability insurance premiums would have been.

Disability insurance after 50 is not about whether you can afford the premiums. It is about whether you can afford the consequences of not having coverage. Run the numbers honestly, factoring in your savings, your expected retirement timeline, your monthly obligations, and your SSDI estimate. For many workers over 50, the answer is that coverage is still worth it, even at higher premiums. For those who are closer to retirement with strong savings, the answer may be different. The key is making an informed decision based on your specific situation. For a broader look at who needs coverage, see our guide on whether you need disability insurance.