Menntun, störf og tekjur þeirra sem urðu öryrkjar á Íslandi árið 1997

Abstract

Introduction: All claims for disability benefits in Iceland are managed by the State Social Security Institute of Iceland. The decision to grant a claimant disability benefits was until September 1999 mainly based on medical certificates but social and economic factors were also taken into consideration. As information on social and economic conditions in medical certificates is limited it was decided to investigate these factors particularly. In this paper a comparison of educational level, employment, and income is made between new recipients of disability benefits and a random sample of the Icelandic nation. Material and methods: All new recipients of disability benefits (full disability pension, partial disability pension and rehabilitation pension) in 1997 were contacted by phone and asked to answer a questionnaire. Their answers were compared with those obtained in a national survey carried out by the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Iceland in 1996 and 1997 with a sample representing accurately the Icelandic population in terms of gender, age and place of residence. Information about average income of disability pensioners was obtained and compared to that of people in employment. Results: Educational level of those receiving disability benefits was considerably lower than expected in comparison with the population and unskilled workers were overrepresented. Contrary to what might be expected a larger proportion of the recently disabled have been employed at some time than is the case for the national sample, even though 63.6% of the new disability pensioners were women. Considerable number of those receiving disability benefits were still in employment, particularly those with partial disability pension. Mean monthly income of Icelanders participating in the labour market was almost twice that received by those on disability benefits. Conclusions: Since lower educational level and more restricted employment opportunities characterize disability pensioners as compared to the nation, it seems likely that more varied occupational rehabilitation and educational opportunities could improve the situation of those who have had to leave the labour market because of ill health, lack of education and poor working conditions.

Inngangur: Umtalsverðar upplýsingar eru til um heilsufar öryrkja á Íslandi, en minni um félagslegar aðstæður þeirra. Félagslegar aðstæður voru því kannaðar og er hér lýst menntunarstigi, störfum og tekjum einstaklinga sem nýlega voru metnir til örorku. Þegar könnunin var gerð var örorka ennþá metin á grundvelli heilsufarslegra, félagslegra og fjárhagslegra forsendna. Meginmarkmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna í hve miklum mæli félagslegar aðstæður nýskráðra öryrkja eru frábrugðnar aðstæðum þjóðarinnar almennt. Efniviður og aðferðir: Í símtali var lagður fyrir listi með spurningum um félagslegar aðstæður. Í úrtaki voru allir sem fengu á árinu 1997 í fyrsta sinn örorkulífeyri, örorkustyrk eða endurhæfingarlífeyri. Svör öryrkjanna voru borin saman við svör við þjóðmálakönnunum Félagsvísindastofnunar Háskóla Íslands, þar sem svarendahópurinn endurspeglaði vel þjóðina eftir kyni, aldri og búsetu. Aflað var upplýsinga um meðaltekjur öryrkja og þær bornar saman við meðaltekjur vinnandi fólks. Niðurstöður: Menntunarstig öryrkjanna reyndist lægra og þeir höfðu í meiri mæli unnið við ófaglærð störf en gengur og gerist hjá þjóðinni. Minna var um að öryrkjarnir hefðu einungis unnið heima en þjóðin almennt. Nokkuð var um að öryrkjarnir væru enn í launaðri vinnu, einkum örorkustyrkþegar. Meðaltekjur Íslendinga sem virkir eru á vinnumarkaði virðast vera nær tvöfalt hærri en meðaltekjur öryrkja. Ályktanir: Þar eð saman fara lægra menntunarstig og þrengri atvinnutækifæri hjá öryrkjum en hjá þjóðinni almennt, má álykta að aukin starfsendurhæfing og fjölbreyttari námstækifæri kynnu að geta bætt stöðu þeirra sem eru að detta út af vinnumarkaði vegna heilsubrests, lágs menntunarstigs og erfiðra starfa.