This study aimed to examine whether the risk of disabilities was reduced among community-dwelling older adults who experienced either depression or loneliness compared with those who experienced both. This sample included 5,005 older adults. Participants were followed for two years from baseline for incidence of disability. They were classified into four groups based on the presence of loneliness and depressive symptoms. The Cox proportional-hazards model, adjusted for confounders, was used to examine their associations with the incidence of disability. The incidence of disability in the comorbid, depression-only, loneliness-only, and robust groups was 11.6 %, 6.9 %, 5.3 %, and 4.2 %, respectively. The depression-only (HR 0.59, 95 % CI 0.36‒0.96), loneliness-only (HR 0.44, 95 % CI 0.31‒0.62), and robust groups (HR 0.34, 95 % CI 0.25‒0.46) had a significantly lower risk of disability compared with the comorbid group. It was concluded that alleviating depression or loneliness may reduce the risk of future disability.