| July 26, 2006

Contact:

New Reports Track 15 Year Trend in Payments

For Immediate Release: July 26, 2006
Contact: Jill Braunstein at (202) 452-8097

To download the full report, click here.
To download a brief for the state of New Jersey, click here.

WASHINGTON, DC–New Jersey workers’ compensation payments declined slightly relative to payroll in 2004, according to two studies released today by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). Compared to the wages of workers covered by the program, benefit payments fell by 2 cents per $100 of payroll—from 79 cents per $100 in 2003 to 77 cents per $100 in 2004, the latest year for which data are available.

Over the past 15 years, workers’ compensation payments in New Jersey have been more stable than for the nation as a whole. In New Jersey, payments have ranged from a high of 92 cents per $100 of covered payroll in 1991 to a low of 71 cents per $100 in 2000. For the United States, benefits peaked in 1992 at $1.68 per $100 of payroll and then fell every year until they reached a low of $1.06 per $100 of payroll in 2000.

In relation to payroll, New Jersey payments for workers’ compensation are below the U.S. average. While benefits in New Jersey were 77 cents per $100 of state covered payroll in 2004, national benefits were $1.13 per $100 of covered payroll.

More details may be found in the two documents released today by NASI. Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage, and Costs, 2004 is the ninth report in a series on workers’ compensation that provides the only comprehensive national data on these state-run programs. Workers’ Compensation in New Jersey: Benefits and Coverage, 2004 compares recent trends in workers’ compensation for New Jersey and the nation as a whole. Both items are available on NASI’s website, www.nasi.org.

EXPERTS TO CONTACT:

Ishita Sengupta
National Academy of Social Insurance
(202) 452-8097
isengupta@nasi.org

John F. Burton, Jr.
Study Panel Chair
Rutgers University
(732) 274-0600
jfburton@rci.rutgers.edu

Allan Hunt
Assistant Executive Director
W.E.Upjohn Institute
(269) 343-5541
hunt@upjohninstitute.org

Jim Ellenberger
worker perspective
Former Deputy Commissioner
Virginia Employment Commission
(703) 938-8349
ellenbergerjn@cs.com

Robert Steggert
employer perspective
Marriott International, Inc.
(301) 380-7499
bob.steggert@marriott.com

Eric Nordman
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
(816) 783-8005
enordman@naic.org

The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to promote understanding and informed policymaking on social insurance and related programs through research, public education, training, and the open exchange of ideas.

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See related news: Disability, Workers' Compensation

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