The Social Security Administration recently announces beneficiaries will not receive higher benefit checks for a second consecutive year, which, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America says, highlights why individual disability income protection should be attained before it's needed.

Of the Americans on Social Security, almost 10 million receive disability benefits, rather than retirement. Annually, cost-of-living adjustments are automatically fixed based on an inflation measure passed by Congress in the 1970s, but earlier this fall the Department of Labor released inflation figures signifying consumer prices are less than two years ago, which is when COLA was last applied, leading to no higher benefit checks in 2011.

"The official absence of inflation isn't much comfort to those Americans receiving disability benefits whose savings and home values haven't recovered from the recession," says Lawrence S. Hazzard, vice president of product strategy at Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, which distributes individual disability income insurance.

"Having personal disability insurance in place offers a measure of control over maintaining your standard of living if injury or illness prevents you from working," Hazzard continues. "And the best individual disability income policies allow you to customize your coverage to avoid the type of economic uncertainties currently faced by Social Security recipients."

Guardian's policy includes a Cost-of-Living-Adjustment Rider with three options:

• Four-year delayed - Guardian increases an individual's monthly benefit each year by 3 percent compounded, and those increases begin on the fourth anniversary of when you originally became disabled.
  
• Fixed 3 percent - Once an individual have been disabled for 12 months, Guardian raises the monthly benefit annually by 3 percent.
  
• Up to 6 percent - Guardian increases an individual's monthly benefit each year based on the changes in the consumer price index at no lower than 3 percent compounded and no higher than 6 percent compounded.

"These are COLA options that you control," Hazzard says. "Whether you're totally disabled and unable to work, or partially disabled and not earning what you did before your illness or injury struck, you want to protect the 'buying power' of your disability benefit against the uncertainties of the economic landscape, regardless of what Washington says."

Additionally, Guardian offers provisions to maintain an individual's policy value while that person is still healthy. This includes the Future Increase Option Rider, which allows an individual's policy to grow with his or her career. Traditionally, an individual must provide evidence of good health during each application to acquire that additional coverage. However, policy owners with the FIO Rider, ProVider Plus can buy supplemental coverage every year until age 55 without a medical insurability requirement.

Another option is an Automatic Benefit Enhancement Rider, which automatically increases a 4 percent compound to an individual disability policy's monthly benefit. For up to five years, opt-in increases any annually, whether there is any change in health, income or occupation. With an ABE Rider, there is no need to apply, and the individual can annually opt out from the benefit increase and subsequent premium increase. After two successive increase declines, the rider is terminated.

Additional coverage is still not a replacement for a primary solution

But even when in a thriving economy, individuals shouldn't assume Social Security can substitute as their need for individual disability income insurance.

"Just as Americans have come to realize that they need to save for retirement throughout their working years and that Social Security retirement benefits on their own will not be adequate for a comfortable retirement, they need to understand that Social Security and other potential sources of income after a disability -- like a spouse's salary, personal savings and worker's compensation -- are supplemental options at best," Hazzard says, "because they can eventually be depleted and eligibility isn't guaranteed.

"Especially given how difficult it can be to even qualify for Social Security disability benefits, an individual disability income insurance policy is the best way to prepare for a potential long-term illness or injury."