Previous Income Support Receipt of Entrants to the Disability Support Pension

• Using a 10% sample of income support recipients over the period January 1995 to June 2004, we examine income support receipt of Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients prior to commencement of DSP receipt. The report consists of two main components: descriptive analysis and econometric modelling. • The descriptive analysis documents the characteristics of DSP entrants, the origins of DSP inflows, pre-DSP patterns of income support receipt, and labour market attachment and work incapacity when on non-DSP income support payments prior to entry to DSP. In addition, a cohort of entrants to non-DSP income support payments is followed over time to examine the proportion that ends up on DSP and the routes to DSP they take. Taken as a whole, the descriptive analysis provides valuable information on the income support ‘journeys’ of individuals leading up to DSP entry. • The econometric modelling analyses the risk of transition to DSP from other payments and identifies the factors that impact on the transition. This analysis facilitates investigation of who is more likely to transfer to DSP when on other income support payments and how the probability of transition varies with duration on income support.