Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2009

Outcomes of Applications for Disability Benefits

Note

The tables in this section provide data on the outcomes of applications for disability benefits. The data on applications are derived from the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) Disability Research File maintained by the Office of Disability Programs. Each year this file is updated with information about applications for disability benefits that is then used to determine the outcome of those applications. The outcome data in these tables are reported by year of filing and include decisions made through the administrative appeals process.

Table 59 shows the total number of applications filed in a year, the number denied for nonmedical reasons before a medical decision is made (technical denials), the number that are pending a final decision, the outcome of applications for which a medical allowance or denial was made, and award and allowance rates. Applications for which a medical allowance or denial decision was made but which were subsequently denied for nonmedical reasons are shown under the medical decision header as subsequent denials. The most common nonmedical reason for denying a claim is insufficient number of recent work credits. The allowance rate is calculated by dividing the number of medical allowances (including subsequent technical denials) by the total number of medical decisions made for a 1-year cohort. The award rate is a broader program measure that is calculated as the number of allowances minus subsequent denials divided by total applications (minus pending claims) filed for a given year.

Claims that remain pending after 6 years are probably the result of imperfect data rather than excessive delays in the decisionmaking process. It is highly probable that decisions have been rendered on most of the older claims. For more recent years, the award and allowance rates will change as decisions are made on pending claims.

Tables 60–62 show the allowance rate for Social Security only and the Social Security portion of concurrent applications (which are claims for both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits). Each table shows a different level in the administrative decisionmaking process, that is, initial adjudicative, reconsideration, and hearing or higher level.

Beginning with 2000, the proportion of claims awarded at each level of the process changed as a result of the Prototype Process being tested in 10 states. Under this test, the reconsideration step of the appeals process was eliminated for applications filed October 1, 1999, or later. Elimination of the reconsideration level in these states results in a decrease in the aggregate proportion of claims awarded at this step.

This section also includes one table that shows the reason for medical allowance and one that shows the reason for medical denial (Tables 63 and 64). The reasons are derived from the sequential evaluation process used by decisionmakers. SSA maintains a list of impairments that are considered disabling under its regulations. An applicant can be found to be disabled if he or she

has a listed impairment,
has a severe impairment that is equal to a listed impairment,
has a severe impairment when medical and vocational factors are considered, or
had previously established entitlement to a disability benefit.

An applicant can be denied benefits if he or she

has an impairment that is not expected to last 12 months,
has an impairment that is not considered severe,
is able to perform his or her usual type of work,
is able to perform another type of work, or
has an impairment resulting from drug addiction or alcoholism, provides insufficient medical evidence, fails to cooperate, fails to follow prescribed treatment, does not want to continue development of the claim, or returns to substantial work before disability can be established.

Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 1999–2008

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging nearly 45 percent for claims filed from 1999 through 2008. The percentage of applicants awarded benefits at the initial claims level averaged 28 percent over the same period and ranged from a high of 35 percent to a low of 24 percent. The percentage of applicants awarded at the reconsideration and hearing levels are averaging 3 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Denied disability claims have averaged nearly 53 percent.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 1998–2008 (percent)
Year	Initial awards	Reconsideration awards	Hearings and Appeals Council awards	Pending final decision	Medical denials	Technical denials
1999	33.8	4.7	16.3	0.0	35.9	9.3
2000	34.3	4.2	16.3	0.0	34.2	11.0
2001	34.8	3.8	15.7	0.0	33.4	12.3
2002	31.4	3.5	16.2	0.3	34.1	14.6
2003	28.0	3.1	15.4	0.3	32.6	20.6
2004	24.7	2.5	13.6	0.5	29.8	28.9
2005	25.3	2.5	13.8	0.9	30.4	27.1
2006	23.8	2.4	12.6	2.1	29.0	30.2
2007	24.0	2.6	8.7	7.1	26.2	31.6
2008	24.3	2.0	2.8	14.6	23.4	32.8

SOURCE: Tables 59–64.

NOTES: Awards are calculated as medical allowances minus subsequent technical denials. Technical denials include both nonmedical decision technical denials and medical decisions that were subsequently denied for technical reasons.

The proportion of claims awarded at each level of the process is likely to change as a result of the Prototype Process being tested in 10 states. Under this test, the reconsideration step of the appeals process was eliminated for applications filed October 1, 1999, or later. Elimination of the reconsideration level in these states is likely to result in a decrease in the overall proportion of claims awarded at this step.

Table 59. Outcomes at all adjudicative levels, by year of application, 1992–2008
Year	Total	Pending final decision	Technical denials ^a	Medical decisions				Award rate ^b (percent)	Allowance rate ^c (percent)
				Denials		Allowances
				Medical	Subsequent nonmedical ^d	Awards	Subsequent denials ^e
	All disabled beneficiaries
1999	1,265,037	0	104,332	445,995	4,056	708,797	1,857	56.0	61.3
2000	1,364,323	0	136,071	458,257	3,820	764,237	1,938	56.0	62.5
2001	1,513,411	0	170,543	498,814	3,581	838,538	1,935	55.4	62.7
2002	1,716,044	4,176	231,002	578,636	4,072	896,059	2,099	52.3	60.7
2003	1,942,210	5,618	374,190	629,481	4,491	926,357	2,073	47.8	59.5
2004	2,262,363	10,018	616,662	675,150	5,687	953,200	1,646	42.3	58.4
2005	2,087,956	17,512	529,551	634,420	7,035	897,447	1,991	43.3	58.4
2006	2,164,544	42,780	611,906	631,205	7,368	869,334	1,951	41.0	57.8
2007	2,210,490	149,416	651,762	588,282	8,209	810,943	1,878	39.3	57.8
2008	2,327,840	325,865	714,778	558,980	9,501	716,800	1,916	35.8	55.9
	Workers
1992	1,310,004	0	130,885	481,439	5,725	689,111	2,844	52.6	58.8
1993	1,384,501	0	140,314	540,906	5,626	695,007	2,648	50.2	56.2
1994	1,383,092	0	130,240	573,158	5,506	671,791	2,397	48.6	53.9
1995	1,301,472	0	123,711	542,097	5,048	628,380	2,236	48.3	53.6
1996	1,313,818	0	116,988	537,482	5,011	652,221	2,116	49.6	54.8
1997	1,164,680	0	106,868	449,464	4,212	602,277	1,859	51.7	57.2
1998	1,138,101	0	96,718	421,953	4,205	613,181	2,044	53.9	59.2
1999	1,167,650	0	102,305	419,486	4,008	640,065	1,786	54.8	60.3
2000	1,265,188	0	133,964	432,341	3,785	693,227	1,871	54.8	61.5
2001	1,414,524	0	168,253	472,960	3,539	767,892	1,880	54.3	61.9
2002	1,609,492	4,046	228,392	549,052	4,016	821,938	2,048	51.2	59.9
2003	1,831,162	5,412	371,223	596,668	4,434	851,423	2,002	46.6	58.8
2004	2,145,633	9,879	612,623	639,567	5,634	876,335	1,595	41.0	57.7
2005	1,970,278	17,369	525,636	599,079	6,941	819,336	1,917	42.0	57.6
2006	2,040,683	42,264	607,131	590,879	7,260	791,258	1,891	39.6	57.1
2007	2,080,417	147,314	646,522	544,621	8,090	732,060	1,810	37.9	57.1
2008	2,196,906	320,266	709,280	515,172	9,376	640,958	1,854	34.2	55.2
	Widow(er)s
1999	40,053	0	1,173	9,718	17	29,108	37	72.7	75.0
2000	39,990	0	1,258	9,027	11	29,665	29	74.2	76.7
2001	40,227	0	1,344	8,742	13	30,109	19	74.8	77.5
2002	41,316	65	1,539	9,089	18	30,586	19	74.1	77.1
2003	41,467	102	1,645	9,656	24	29,996	44	72.5	75.7
2004	42,615	52	2,073	9,987	22	30,457	24	71.6	75.3
2005	41,572	67	1,895	9,633	27	29,926	24	72.1	75.7
2006	41,577	221	2,195	10,004	38	29,096	23	70.4	74.4
2007	40,321	853	2,208	9,541	29	27,662	28	70.1	74.4
2008	40,013	2,220	2,308	9,127	33	26,304	21	69.6	74.2
	Adult children
1999	57,334	0	854	16,791	31	39,624	34	69.1	70.3
2000	59,145	0	849	16,889	24	41,345	38	69.9	71.0
2001	58,660	0	946	17,112	29	40,537	36	69.1	70.3
2002	65,236	65	1,071	20,495	38	43,535	32	66.8	68.0
2003	69,581	104	1,322	23,157	33	44,938	27	64.7	66.0
2004	74,115	87	1,966	25,596	31	46,408	27	62.7	64.5
2005	76,106	76	2,020	25,708	67	48,185	50	63.4	65.2
2006	82,284	295	2,580	30,322	70	48,980	37	59.7	61.8
2007	89,752	1,249	3,032	34,120	90	51,221	40	57.9	60.0
2008	90,921	3,379	3,190	34,681	92	49,538	41	56.6	58.8
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for all levels are current through August 2009.
Because a number of applications remain pending for more recent years, the award and allowance rates will change over time. Cases can be pending at the initial or appellate levels and can include either medical or technical issues.
Data include decisions for Social Security-only applications and applications for both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI); they do not include SSI-only applications.
Data from 1992 to 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
a. Applications were denied for nonmedical reasons; therefore no decision was made on severity of impairment.
b. Rate determined by dividing awards by all applications minus pending claims for that year.
c. Rate determined by dividing medical allowances by all medical decisions for that year.
d. Applications were denied for nonmedical reasons after a decision was made that the applicant did not meet the medical severity criteria for disability benefits.
e. Applications were denied for nonmedical reasons after a decision was made that the applicant met the medical severity criteria for disability benefits.
CONTACT: Clark Pickett (410) 965-9016 or di.asr@ssa.gov.

Table 60. Medical decisions at the initial adjudicative level, by year of application and program, 1992–2008
Year	All decisions			Decisions on applications for Social Security only			Decisions on applications for both Social Security and SSI
Year	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a (percent)	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a (percent)	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a,b (percent)
	All disabled beneficiaries
1999	1,160,792	458,854	39.5	649,980	313,152	48.2	510,812	145,702	28.5
2000	1,228,328	500,657	40.8	688,309	339,764	49.4	540,019	160,893	29.8
2001	1,342,978	558,741	41.6	742,932	379,266	51.0	600,046	179,475	29.9
2002	1,484,999	575,179	38.7	795,034	385,515	48.5	689,965	189,664	27.5
2003	1,567,887	583,830	37.2	804,865	383,281	47.6	763,022	200,549	26.3
2004	1,645,513	602,185	36.6	813,100	388,017	47.7	832,413	214,168	25.7
2005	1,558,240	573,379	36.8	762,520	369,376	48.4	795,720	204,003	25.6
2006	1,552,248	560,044	36.1	752,186	362,063	48.1	800,062	197,981	24.7
2007	1,556,910	574,360	36.9	749,959	370,856	49.5	806,951	203,504	25.2
2008	1,608,524	609,498	37.9	761,339	389,744	51.2	847,185	219,754	25.9
	Workers
1992	1,179,119	436,715	37.0	558,741	248,385	44.5	620,378	188,330	30.4
1993	1,244,187	421,560	33.9	571,464	240,839	42.1	672,723	180,721	26.9
1994	1,252,852	390,785	31.2	591,408	233,059	39.4	661,444	157,726	23.8
1995	1,177,761	367,293	31.2	569,963	223,457	39.2	607,798	143,836	23.7
1996	1,196,830	384,167	32.1	593,992	237,474	40.0	602,838	146,693	24.3
1997	1,057,812	357,880	33.8	551,909	228,793	41.5	505,903	129,087	25.5
1998	1,041,383	374,376	35.9	550,794	238,989	43.4	490,589	135,387	27.6
1999	1,065,430	396,253	37.2	578,884	259,417	44.8	486,546	136,836	28.1
2000	1,131,297	435,416	38.5	615,531	283,906	46.1	515,766	151,510	29.4
2001	1,246,378	493,638	39.6	670,682	323,649	48.3	575,696	169,989	29.5
2002	1,381,057	507,038	36.7	718,597	327,298	45.5	662,460	179,740	27.1
2003	1,459,813	514,873	35.3	728,142	324,771	44.6	731,671	190,102	26.0
2004	1,532,823	531,112	34.6	736,982	328,863	44.6	795,841	202,249	25.4
2005	1,444,479	501,089	34.7	685,167	308,900	45.1	759,312	192,189	25.3
2006	1,433,170	487,671	34.0	674,409	301,954	44.8	758,761	185,717	24.5
2007	1,432,099	500,181	34.9	671,280	310,321	46.2	760,819	189,860	25.0
2008	1,483,171	536,134	36.1	684,852	330,436	48.2	798,319	205,698	25.8
	Widow(er)s
1999	38,880	24,898	64.0	29,600	21,272	71.9	9,280	3,626	39.1
2000	38,734	25,748	66.5	29,876	21,967	73.5	8,858	3,781	42.7
2001	38,883	26,206	67.4	30,273	22,436	74.1	8,610	3,770	43.8
2002	39,777	26,541	66.7	31,059	22,787	73.4	8,718	3,754	43.1
2003	39,821	25,997	65.3	30,366	22,240	73.2	9,455	3,757	39.7
2004	40,542	26,590	65.6	29,686	22,236	74.9	10,856	4,354	40.1
2005	39,676	26,179	66.0	29,308	22,009	75.1	10,368	4,170	40.2
2006	39,382	25,491	64.7	28,524	21,381	75.0	10,858	4,110	37.9
2007	38,110	24,934	65.4	27,125	20,695	76.3	10,985	4,239	38.6
2008	37,685	24,910	66.1	26,201	20,476	78.1	11,484	4,434	38.6
	Adult children
1999	56,482	37,703	66.8	41,496	32,463	78.2	14,986	5,240	35.0
2000	58,297	39,493	67.7	42,902	33,891	79.0	15,395	5,602	36.4
2001	57,717	38,897	67.4	41,977	33,181	79.0	15,740	5,716	36.3
2002	64,165	41,600	64.8	45,378	35,430	78.1	18,787	6,170	32.8
2003	68,253	42,960	62.9	46,357	36,270	78.2	21,896	6,690	30.6
2004	72,148	44,483	61.7	46,432	36,918	79.5	25,716	7,565	29.4
2005	74,085	46,111	62.2	48,045	38,467	80.1	26,040	7,644	29.4
2006	79,696	46,882	58.8	49,253	38,728	78.6	30,443	8,154	26.8
2007	86,701	49,245	56.8	51,554	39,840	77.3	35,147	9,405	26.8
2008	87,668	48,454	55.3	50,286	38,832	77.2	37,382	9,622	25.7
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2009.
Because a number of applications remain pending for more recent years, the allowance rate will change over time.
Applications with a medical decision may be pending a final nonmedical decision or be subsequently denied for nonmedical reasons.
Data from 1992 to 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
SSI = Supplemental Security Income.
a. Rate determined by dividing medical allowances by all medical decisions for that year.
b. Rate for the Social Security portion only.
CONTACT: Clark Pickett (410) 965-9016 or di.asr@ssa.gov.

Table 61. Medical decisions at the reconsideration level, by year of application and program, 1992–2008
Year	All decisions			Decisions on applications for Social Security only			Decisions on applications for both Social Security and SSI
Year	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a (percent)	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a (percent)	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a,b (percent)
	All disabled beneficiaries
1999	397,127	58,602	14.8	209,682	33,223	15.8	187,445	25,379	13.5
2000	407,785	56,257	13.8	214,992	31,762	14.8	192,793	24,495	12.7
2001	434,248	56,203	12.9	221,783	31,165	14.1	212,465	25,038	11.8
2002	502,504	58,640	11.7	249,853	31,726	12.7	252,651	26,914	10.7
2003	543,006	59,139	10.9	258,353	30,863	11.9	284,653	28,276	9.9
2004	558,569	56,981	10.2	255,206	29,141	11.4	303,363	27,840	9.2
2005	514,224	51,486	10.0	231,177	26,576	11.5	283,047	24,910	8.8
2006	514,298	51,365	10.0	227,770	26,330	11.6	286,528	25,035	8.7
2007	515,998	55,980	10.8	222,560	29,408	13.2	293,438	26,572	9.1
2008	477,967	46,232	9.7	197,719	24,173	12.2	280,248	22,059	7.9
	Workers
1992	419,798	53,881	12.8	190,594	25,352	13.3	229,204	28,529	12.4
1993	469,151	58,275	12.4	206,606	27,306	13.2	262,545	30,969	11.8
1994	489,731	62,757	12.8	226,013	31,468	13.9	263,718	31,289	11.9
1995	458,036	60,584	13.2	218,950	31,563	14.4	239,086	29,021	12.1
1996	464,582	65,466	14.1	226,333	33,596	14.8	238,249	31,870	13.4
1997	403,225	59,978	14.9	206,148	33,373	16.2	197,077	26,605	13.5
1998	384,997	61,742	16.0	199,292	34,043	17.1	185,705	27,699	14.9
1999	384,286	55,272	14.4	202,999	31,712	15.6	181,287	23,560	13.0
2000	396,240	53,410	13.5	208,662	30,469	14.6	187,578	22,941	12.2
2001	422,998	53,593	12.7	215,652	29,997	13.9	207,346	23,596	11.4
2002	489,955	56,101	11.5	243,240	30,657	12.6	246,715	25,444	10.3
2003	529,745	56,532	10.7	252,196	29,850	11.8	277,549	26,682	9.6
2004	545,086	54,504	10.0	249,475	28,224	11.3	295,611	26,280	8.9
2005	501,285	49,110	9.8	225,613	25,714	11.4	275,672	23,396	8.5
2006	500,754	48,931	9.8	222,308	25,541	11.5	278,446	23,390	8.4
2007	501,242	53,581	10.7	217,034	28,584	13.2	284,208	24,997	8.8
2008	464,873	44,629	9.6	193,275	23,579	12.2	271,598	21,050	7.8
	Widow(er)s
1999	7,125	1,962	27.5	4,114	895	21.8	3,011	1,067	35.4
2000	6,381	1,578	24.7	3,874	739	19.1	2,507	839	33.5
2001	6,212	1,596	25.7	3,865	735	19.0	2,347	861	36.7
2002	6,461	1,432	22.2	4,041	660	16.3	2,420	772	31.9
2003	6,707	1,443	21.5	3,857	651	16.9	2,850	792	27.8
2004	6,497	1,372	21.1	3,472	572	16.5	3,025	800	26.4
2005	6,140	1,227	20.0	3,351	528	15.8	2,789	699	25.1
2006	6,002	1,181	19.7	3,128	444	14.2	2,874	737	25.6
2007	5,719	1,080	18.9	2,815	437	15.5	2,904	643	22.1
2008	4,891	687	14.0	2,243	304	13.6	2,648	383	14.5
	Adult children
1999	5,716	1,368	23.9	2,569	616	24.0	3,147	752	23.9
2000	5,164	1,269	24.6	2,456	554	22.6	2,708	715	26.4
2001	5,038	1,014	20.1	2,266	433	19.1	2,772	581	21.0
2002	6,088	1,107	18.2	2,572	409	15.9	3,516	698	19.9
2003	6,554	1,164	17.8	2,300	362	15.7	4,254	802	18.9
2004	6,986	1,105	15.8	2,259	345	15.3	4,727	760	16.1
2005	6,799	1,149	16.9	2,213	334	15.1	4,586	815	17.8
2006	7,542	1,253	16.6	2,334	345	14.8	5,208	908	17.4
2007	9,037	1,319	14.6	2,711	387	14.3	6,326	932	14.7
2008	8,203	916	11.2	2,201	290	13.2	6,002	626	10.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2009.
Because a number of applications remain pending for more recent years, the allowance rate will change over time.
Applications with a medical decision may be pending a final nonmedical decision or be subsequently denied for nonmedical reasons.
A revised process was introduced on October 1, 1999, in 10 states, under which initial denials could be appealed directly to the hearing level without a reconsideration.
Data from 1992 to 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
SSI = Supplemental Security Income.
a. Rate determined by dividing medical allowances by all medical decisions for that year.
b. Rate for the Social Security portion only.
CONTACT: Clark Pickett (410) 965-9016 or di.asr@ssa.gov.

Table 62. Medical decisions at the hearing level or above, by year of application and program, 1992–2008
Year	All decisions			Decisions on applications for Social Security only			Decisions on applications for both Social Security and SSI
Year	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a (percent)	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a (percent)	Total	Allowances	Allowance rate ^a,b (percent)
	All disabled beneficiaries
1999	265,058	193,198	72.9	144,847	114,207	78.8	120,211	78,991	65.7
2000	289,469	209,261	72.3	156,739	122,797	78.3	132,730	86,464	65.1
2001	313,192	225,529	72.0	164,414	129,219	78.6	148,778	96,310	64.7
2002	364,609	264,339	72.5	187,441	149,336	79.7	177,168	115,003	64.9
2003	394,975	285,461	72.3	195,029	155,896	79.9	199,946	129,565	64.8
2004	404,989	295,680	73.0	192,612	156,865	81.4	212,377	138,815	65.4
2005	366,424	274,573	74.9	171,406	142,040	82.9	195,018	132,533	68.0
2006	343,423	259,876	75.7	160,197	134,216	83.8	183,226	125,660	68.6
2007	235,124	182,481	77.6	113,322	96,780	85.4	121,802	85,701	70.4
2008	77,359	62,986	81.4	41,052	36,319	88.5	36,307	26,667	73.4
	Workers
1992	275,863	201,359	73.0	131,624	105,371	80.1	144,239	95,988	66.5
1993	310,655	217,816	70.1	143,997	112,593	78.2	166,658	105,223	63.1
1994	323,607	220,645	68.2	156,458	119,338	76.3	167,149	101,307	60.6
1995	301,917	202,739	67.2	150,882	113,781	75.4	151,035	88,958	58.9
1996	306,245	204,704	66.8	157,790	116,292	73.7	148,455	88,412	59.6
1997	267,288	186,278	69.7	141,021	107,539	76.3	126,267	78,739	62.4
1998	251,486	179,107	71.2	134,883	104,763	77.7	116,603	74,344	63.8
1999	260,850	190,326	73.0	141,671	111,954	79.0	119,179	78,372	65.8
2000	285,028	206,272	72.4	153,393	120,466	78.5	131,635	85,806	65.2
2001	308,744	222,541	72.1	161,045	126,876	78.8	147,699	95,665	64.8
2002	359,535	260,847	72.6	183,646	146,603	79.8	175,889	114,244	65.0
2003	389,839	282,020	72.3	191,581	153,428	80.1	198,258	128,592	64.9
2004	399,976	292,314	73.1	189,465	154,549	81.6	210,511	137,765	65.4
2005	361,453	271,054	75.0	168,264	139,635	83.0	193,189	131,419	68.0
2006	338,677	256,547	75.7	157,268	132,024	83.9	181,409	124,523	68.6
2007	231,745	180,108	77.7	111,257	95,199	85.6	120,488	84,909	70.5
2008	76,119	62,049	81.5	40,274	35,686	88.6	35,845	26,363	73.5
	Widow(er)s
1999	3,027	2,285	75.5	2,325	1,794	77.2	702	491	69.9
2000	3,136	2,368	75.5	2,411	1,853	76.9	725	515	71.0
2001	3,032	2,326	76.7	2,384	1,852	77.7	648	474	73.1
2002	3,369	2,632	78.1	2,638	2,097	79.5	731	535	73.2
2003	3,375	2,600	77.0	2,390	1,894	79.2	985	706	71.7
2004	3,170	2,519	79.5	2,161	1,774	82.1	1,009	745	73.8
2005	3,134	2,544	81.2	2,132	1,791	84.0	1,002	753	75.1
2006	2,952	2,447	82.9	1,935	1,648	85.2	1,017	799	78.6
2007	2,011	1,676	83.3	1,326	1,132	85.4	685	544	79.4
2008	842	728	86.5	556	497	89.4	286	231	80.8
	Adult children
1999	1,181	587	49.7	851	459	53.9	330	128	38.8
2000	1,305	621	47.6	935	478	51.1	370	143	38.6
2001	1,416	662	46.8	985	491	49.8	431	171	39.7
2002	1,705	860	50.4	1,157	636	55.0	548	224	40.9
2003	1,761	841	47.8	1,058	574	54.3	703	267	38.0
2004	1,843	847	46.0	986	542	55.0	857	305	35.6
2005	1,837	975	53.1	1,010	614	60.8	827	361	43.7
2006	1,794	882	49.2	994	544	54.7	800	338	42.3
2007	1,368	697	51.0	739	449	60.8	629	248	39.4
2008	398	209	52.5	222	136	61.3	176	73	41.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2009.
Because a number of applications remain pending for more recent years, the allowance rate will change over time.
Applications with a medical decision may be pending a final nonmedical decision or be subsequently denied for nonmedical reasons.
A revised process was introduced on October 1, 1999, in 10 states, under which initial denials could be appealed directly to the hearing level without a reconsideration.
Data from 1992 to 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
SSI = Supplemental Security Income.
a. Rate determined by dividing medical allowances by all medical decisions for that year.
b. Rate for the Social Security portion only.
CONTACT: Clark Pickett (410) 965-9016 or di.asr@ssa.gov.

Table 63. Percentage distribution of final medical allowances, by year of application and reason for allowance, 1992–2008
Year	Total		Meets level of severity of listings	Equals level of severity of listings	Medical and vocational factors considered	Other ^a
Year	Number	Percent	Meets level of severity of listings	Equals level of severity of listings	Medical and vocational factors considered	Other ^a
	All disabled beneficiaries
1999	708,797	100.0	33.0	5.9	26.9	34.2
2000	764,237	100.0	31.2	6.2	29.3	33.4
2001	838,538	100.0	30.0	6.1	30.1	33.7
2002	896,059	100.0	28.6	5.3	30.2	35.9
2003	926,357	100.0	27.2	5.1	31.2	36.6
2004	953,200	100.0	26.6	5.0	31.7	36.7
2005	897,447	100.0	26.8	4.7	32.4	36.1
2006	869,334	100.0	27.0	4.6	32.6	35.7
2007	810,943	100.0	29.2	5.2	36.6	29.0
2008	716,800	100.0	33.4	6.7	44.0	15.8
	Workers
1992	689,111	100.0	34.3	11.1	24.3	30.3
1993	695,007	100.0	34.3	8.7	23.6	33.4
1994	671,791	100.0	34.5	6.9	25.6	32.9
1995	628,380	100.0	34.5	6.7	26.8	31.9
1996	652,221	100.0	34.2	7.0	27.4	31.5
1997	602,277	100.0	35.0	7.5	26.4	31.1
1998	613,181	100.0	35.5	6.6	26.9	31.0
1999	640,065	100.0	33.6	6.3	28.3	31.9
2000	693,227	100.0	31.8	6.5	30.7	31.0
2001	767,892	100.0	30.6	6.4	31.4	31.6
2002	821,938	100.0	29.0	5.6	31.5	33.9
2003	851,423	100.0	27.5	5.3	32.6	34.6
2004	876,335	100.0	26.9	5.2	33.2	34.7
2005	819,336	100.0	27.3	4.9	34.0	33.7
2006	791,258	100.0	27.6	4.9	34.4	33.2
2007	732,060	100.0	29.9	5.5	39.0	25.7
2008	640,958	100.0	34.6	7.2	47.4	10.9
	Widow(er)s
1999	29,108	100.0	14.9	2.5	24.6	58.0
2000	29,665	100.0	12.8	2.5	26.3	58.4
2001	30,109	100.0	12.3	2.6	27.0	58.1
2002	30,586	100.0	11.4	2.1	26.6	59.9
2003	29,996	100.0	10.8	2.2	26.2	60.8
2004	30,457	100.0	10.2	1.9	26.4	61.5
2005	29,926	100.0	9.9	1.7	25.8	62.7
2006	29,096	100.0	9.7	1.5	24.5	64.3
2007	27,662	100.0	9.7	1.7	25.8	62.8
2008	26,304	100.0	9.9	2.0	28.0	60.2
	Adult children
1999	39,624	100.0	35.9	3.2	7.4	53.5
2000	41,345	100.0	35.0	3.1	7.3	54.7
2001	40,537	100.0	33.0	3.0	8.0	56.0
2002	43,535	100.0	31.8	2.9	7.6	57.7
2003	44,938	100.0	31.1	2.7	8.2	58.1
2004	46,408	100.0	30.4	2.8	8.6	58.2
2005	48,185	100.0	28.8	2.5	8.4	60.3
2006	48,980	100.0	28.7	2.6	8.9	59.8
2007	51,221	100.0	30.0	2.7	9.5	57.8
2008	49,538	100.0	31.0	2.9	9.6	56.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for all levels are current through August 2009.
Because a number of applications remain pending for more recent years, the numbers and percentages will change over time.
Applications with a medical decision may be pending a final nonmedical decision or be subsequently denied for nonmedical reasons.
Data include decisions for Social Security-only applications and applications for both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI); they do not include SSI-only claims.
Data from 1992 to 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
a. Includes applications for which the disability was previously established and those for which the basis for the determination is not available. The majority of applications for which the basis of determination is not available are cases allowed at or above the hearing level.
CONTACT: Clark Pickett (410) 965-9016 or di.asr@ssa.gov.

Table 64. Percentage distribution of final medical denials, by year of application and reason for denial, 1992–2008
Year	Total		Impairment did not or is not expected to last 12 months	Impairment is not severe	Able to do usual past work	Able to do other type of work	Other ^a
Year	Number	Percent	Impairment did not or is not expected to last 12 months	Impairment is not severe	Able to do usual past work	Able to do other type of work	Other ^a
	All disabled beneficiaries
1999	450,051	100.0	10.2	17.8	28.3	30.8	12.9
2000	462,077	100.0	10.0	17.2	28.3	30.4	14.1
2001	502,395	100.0	9.2	16.7	28.1	31.1	14.9
2002	582,708	100.0	8.5	17.1	28.2	31.2	14.9
2003	633,972	100.0	7.5	17.7	28.2	31.7	14.9
2004	680,837	100.0	6.8	18.4	27.5	31.5	15.7
2005	641,455	100.0	6.5	19.2	26.6	31.3	16.4
2006	638,573	100.0	6.4	19.9	26.0	30.9	16.8
2007	596,491	100.0	6.6	20.4	26.0	30.1	17.0
2008	568,481	100.0	6.4	21.1	25.6	29.7	17.1
	Workers
1992	487,164	100.0	10.7	22.9	28.4	29.6	8.4
1993	546,532	100.0	10.4	22.7	27.6	29.8	9.5
1994	578,664	100.0	10.2	21.5	25.9	28.8	13.6
1995	547,145	100.0	10.6	20.8	25.4	29.4	13.8
1996	542,493	100.0	10.2	19.6	24.7	30.6	14.8
1997	453,676	100.0	10.6	18.5	25.7	30.5	14.6
1998	426,158	100.0	10.8	18.3	27.8	30.8	12.3
1999	423,494	100.0	10.6	17.4	29.3	30.1	12.6
2000	436,126	100.0	10.4	16.7	29.3	29.7	13.8
2001	476,499	100.0	9.5	16.4	29.0	30.5	14.6
2002	553,068	100.0	8.8	16.8	29.2	30.5	14.7
2003	601,102	100.0	7.7	17.4	29.2	31.0	14.7
2004	645,201	100.0	7.1	18.2	28.5	30.8	15.5
2005	606,020	100.0	6.8	19.0	27.6	30.5	16.2
2006	598,139	100.0	6.7	19.6	27.3	30.1	16.4
2007	552,711	100.0	6.9	20.1	27.5	28.9	16.6
2008	524,548	100.0	6.8	20.9	27.2	28.4	16.8
	Widow(er)s
1999	9,735	100.0	5.6	29.0	31.8	22.7	10.8
2000	9,038	100.0	5.2	29.0	31.4	22.3	12.1
2001	8,755	100.0	4.6	27.6	31.2	22.8	13.7
2002	9,107	100.0	4.7	26.2	32.4	23.6	13.1
2003	9,680	100.0	4.2	26.4	32.6	23.4	13.4
2004	10,009	100.0	3.5	26.6	32.1	23.4	14.4
2005	9,660	100.0	3.5	26.8	32.0	23.0	14.7
2006	10,042	100.0	3.8	25.9	31.2	23.3	15.8
2007	9,570	100.0	3.8	26.2	31.4	23.3	15.3
2008	9,160	100.0	3.7	25.6	31.2	23.8	15.7
	Adult children
1999	16,822	100.0	3.1	22.7	0.7	53.3	20.2
2000	16,913	100.0	2.8	22.9	0.7	51.9	21.7
2001	17,141	100.0	2.5	21.3	0.9	52.9	22.3
2002	20,533	100.0	2.3	21.6	0.8	53.5	21.7
2003	23,190	100.0	2.0	21.8	0.7	53.6	21.9
2004	25,627	100.0	1.9	22.1	0.5	52.5	23.0
2005	25,775	100.0	1.8	21.1	0.4	53.1	23.6
2006	30,392	100.0	1.8	23.5	0.4	50.5	23.9
2007	34,210	100.0	1.7	23.5	0.3	50.5	24.1
2008	34,773	100.0	1.6	24.0	0.2	51.7	22.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for all levels are current through August 2009.
Because a number of applications remain pending for more recent years, the numbers and percentages will change over time.
Applications with a medical decision may be pending a final nonmedical decision or be subsequently denied for nonmedical reasons.
Data include decisions for Social Security-only applications and applications for both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI); they do not include SSI-only claims.
Data from 1992 to 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
a. Applicant has an impairment resulting from drug addiction or alcoholism, provided insufficient medical evidence, failed to cooperate, failed to follow prescribed treatment, did not want to continue development of the claim, or returned to substantial work before disability could be established. Also includes cases denied at or above the hearing level for which the basis of determination is not available.
CONTACT: Clark Pickett (410) 965-9016 or di.asr@ssa.gov.