Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2010

Outcomes of Applications for Disability Benefits

Notes

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 decision-making 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 decision-making 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 decision makers. 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, 1999–2009

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging nearly 45 percent for claims filed from 2000 through 2009. The percentage of applicants awarded benefits at the initial claims level averaged 28 percent over the same period and ranged from a high of 37 percent to a low of 26 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, 2000–2009 (percent)
Year	Initial awards	Reconsideration awards	Hearings and Appeals Council awards	Pending final decision	Medical denials	Technical denials
2000	36.6	4.1	15.5	0.0	33.5	10.4
2001	36.8	3.7	15.1	0.0	32.8	11.6
2002	33.4	3.3	15.6	0.0	33.8	13.8
2003	30.0	3.0	14.9	0.0	32.5	19.6
2004	26.6	2.5	13.2	0.1	30.1	27.6
2005	27.4	2.4	13.4	0.2	30.8	25.8
2006	25.8	2.3	12.6	0.6	30.0	28.7
2007	26.1	2.6	11.8	1.5	28.1	29.9
2008	26.6	2.5	9.7	4.3	25.9	31.0
2009	25.8	1.7	3.8	13.0	23.8	31.8

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, 1992–2009
Year	Total	Pending final decision	Technical denials ^a	Medical decisions				Award rate ^d (percent)	Allowance rate ^e (percent)
				Denials		Allowances
				Medical	Subsequent nonmedical ^b	Awards	Subsequent denials ^c
	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	136,054	456,468	3,817	766,046	1,938	56.1	62.6
2001	1,513,411	0	170,521	496,850	3,579	840,526	1,935	55.5	62.8
2002	1,716,044	0	231,067	580,718	4,067	898,093	2,099	52.3	60.7
2003	1,942,210	512	374,306	632,182	4,485	928,652	2,073	47.8	59.5
2004	2,262,363	1,806	616,817	679,904	5,681	956,510	1,645	42.3	58.3
2005	2,087,956	4,662	529,684	642,991	7,024	901,605	1,990	43.3	58.2
2006	2,164,544	12,779	612,172	649,635	7,345	880,664	1,949	40.9	57.4
2007	2,216,709	32,967	652,625	622,386	8,001	898,888	1,842	41.2	58.9
2008	2,350,022	101,687	717,526	608,285	9,240	911,444	1,840	40.5	59.7
2009	2,700,140	352,246	844,627	643,858	11,172	846,290	1,947	36.0	56.5
	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	133,947	430,582	3,782	695,006	1,871	54.9	61.7
2001	1,414,524	0	168,232	471,014	3,537	769,861	1,880	54.4	62.0
2002	1,609,492	0	228,455	551,044	4,011	823,934	2,048	51.2	59.9
2003	1,831,162	509	371,333	599,227	4,428	853,663	2,002	46.6	58.7
2004	2,145,633	1,799	612,777	644,231	5,628	879,604	1,594	41.0	57.6
2005	1,970,278	4,636	525,767	607,568	6,930	823,461	1,916	41.9	57.4
2006	2,040,683	12,667	607,392	609,069	7,237	802,429	1,889	39.6	56.7
2007	2,083,899	32,214	647,375	579,550	7,885	815,100	1,775	39.7	58.2
2008	2,212,158	98,598	711,964	565,732	9,103	824,988	1,773	39.0	59.1
2009	2,556,391	341,955	838,776	597,983	11,016	764,784	1,877	34.5	55.8
	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	9,013	11	29,679	29	74.2	76.8
2001	40,227	0	1,344	8,738	13	30,113	19	74.9	77.5
2002	41,316	0	1,540	9,133	18	30,606	19	74.1	77.0
2003	41,467	2	1,646	9,735	24	30,016	44	72.4	75.6
2004	42,615	4	2,073	10,023	22	30,469	24	71.5	75.3
2005	41,572	17	1,896	9,673	27	29,935	24	72.0	75.6
2006	41,577	54	2,195	10,089	38	29,178	23	70.3	74.3
2007	40,879	222	2,212	9,049	29	29,340	27	72.2	76.4
2008	41,444	779	2,322	8,479	35	29,808	21	73.3	77.8
2009	41,399	2,980	2,520	8,240	46	27,591	22	71.8	77.0
	Adult children
1999	57,334	0	854	16,791	31	39,624	34	69.1	70.3
2000	59,145	0	849	16,873	24	41,361	38	69.9	71.1
2001	58,660	0	945	17,098	29	40,552	36	69.1	70.4
2002	65,236	0	1,072	20,541	38	43,553	32	66.8	68.0
2003	69,581	1	1,327	23,220	33	44,973	27	64.6	66.0
2004	74,115	3	1,967	25,650	31	46,437	27	62.7	64.4
2005	76,106	9	2,021	25,750	67	48,209	50	63.4	65.2
2006	82,284	58	2,585	30,477	70	49,057	37	59.7	61.7
2007	91,931	531	3,038	33,787	87	54,448	40	59.6	61.7
2008	96,420	2,310	3,240	34,074	102	56,648	46	60.2	62.4
2009	102,350	7,311	3,331	37,635	110	53,915	48	56.7	58.9
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2010. Data for the hearing level or above are current through October 2010.
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 through 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
a. Applications were denied for nonmedical reasons; therefore no decision was made on severity of impairment.
b. Applications were denied for nonmedical reasons after a decision was made that the applicant did not meet the medical severity criteria for disability benefits.
c. Applications were denied for nonmedical reasons after a decision was made that the applicant met the medical severity criteria for disability benefits.
d. Rate determined by dividing awards by all applications minus pending claims for that year.
e. Rate determined by dividing medical allowances by all medical decisions for that year.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 60. Medical decisions at the initial adjudicative level, by year of application and program, 1992–2009
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	1,228,301	500,657	40.8	688,282	339,764	49.4	540,019	160,893	29.8
2001	1,342,915	558,741	41.6	742,869	379,266	51.1	600,046	179,475	29.9
2002	1,485,020	575,179	38.7	795,055	385,515	48.5	689,965	189,664	27.5
2003	1,567,917	583,830	37.2	804,895	383,281	47.6	763,022	200,549	26.3
2004	1,645,550	602,185	36.6	813,137	388,017	47.7	832,413	214,168	25.7
2005	1,558,281	573,379	36.8	762,559	369,376	48.4	795,722	204,003	25.6
2006	1,552,316	560,044	36.1	752,254	362,063	48.1	800,062	197,981	24.7
2007	1,563,903	580,943	37.1	756,267	376,151	49.7	807,636	204,792	25.4
2008	1,631,601	625,726	38.4	774,884	401,311	51.8	856,717	224,415	26.2
2009	1,852,668	699,471	37.8	889,184	454,947	51.2	963,484	244,524	25.4
	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	1,131,273	435,416	38.5	615,507	283,906	46.1	515,766	151,510	29.4
2001	1,246,317	493,638	39.6	670,621	323,649	48.3	575,696	169,989	29.5
2002	1,381,078	507,038	36.7	718,618	327,298	45.5	662,460	179,740	27.1
2003	1,459,842	514,873	35.3	728,171	324,771	44.6	731,671	190,102	26.0
2004	1,532,860	531,112	34.6	737,019	328,863	44.6	795,841	202,249	25.4
2005	1,444,520	501,089	34.7	685,206	308,900	45.1	759,314	192,189	25.3
2006	1,433,236	487,671	34.0	674,475	301,954	44.8	758,761	185,717	24.5
2007	1,436,352	504,098	35.1	675,083	313,217	46.4	761,269	190,881	25.1
2008	1,499,335	546,495	36.4	692,597	336,526	48.6	806,738	209,969	26.0
2009	1,714,863	621,836	36.3	809,439	393,092	48.6	905,424	228,744	25.3
	Widow(er)s
1999	38,880	24,898	64.0	29,600	21,272	71.9	9,280	3,626	39.1
2000	38,732	25,748	66.5	29,874	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	38,667	25,487	65.9	27,657	21,175	76.6	11,010	4,312	39.2
2008	39,114	26,090	66.7	27,508	21,582	78.5	11,606	4,508	38.8
2009	38,869	25,507	65.6	26,562	20,705	77.9	12,307	4,802	39.0
	Adult children
1999	56,482	37,703	66.8	41,496	32,463	78.2	14,986	5,240	35.0
2000	58,296	39,493	67.7	42,901	33,891	79.0	15,395	5,602	36.4
2001	57,715	38,897	67.4	41,975	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	68,254	42,960	62.9	46,358	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	79,698	46,882	58.8	49,255	38,728	78.6	30,443	8,154	26.8
2007	88,884	51,358	57.8	53,527	41,759	78.0	35,357	9,599	27.1
2008	93,152	53,141	57.0	54,779	43,203	78.9	38,373	9,938	25.9
2009	98,936	52,128	52.7	53,183	41,150	77.4	45,753	10,978	24.0
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2010.
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 through 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: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 61. Medical decisions at the reconsideration level, by year of application and program, 1992–2009
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	407,758	55,631	13.6	214,965	31,473	14.6	192,793	24,158	12.5
2001	434,185	55,494	12.8	221,720	30,807	13.9	212,465	24,687	11.6
2002	502,525	57,466	11.4	249,874	31,216	12.5	252,651	26,250	10.4
2003	543,036	57,871	10.7	258,383	30,347	11.7	284,653	27,524	9.7
2004	558,606	56,533	10.1	255,243	28,939	11.3	303,363	27,594	9.1
2005	514,265	51,023	9.9	231,216	26,340	11.4	283,049	24,683	8.7
2006	514,366	50,459	9.8	227,838	25,904	11.4	286,528	24,555	8.6
2007	519,156	57,597	11.1	224,345	30,110	13.4	294,811	27,487	9.3
2008	544,716	58,819	10.8	221,311	29,793	13.5	323,405	29,026	9.0
2009	559,089	45,812	8.2	231,789	24,396	10.5	327,300	21,416	6.5
	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	396,216	52,794	13.3	208,638	30,189	14.5	187,578	22,605	12.1
2001	422,937	52,905	12.5	215,591	29,647	13.8	207,346	23,258	11.2
2002	489,976	54,976	11.2	243,261	30,159	12.4	246,715	24,817	10.1
2003	529,774	55,341	10.4	252,225	29,350	11.6	277,549	25,991	9.4
2004	545,123	54,086	9.9	249,512	28,030	11.2	295,611	26,056	8.8
2005	501,326	48,651	9.7	225,652	25,480	11.3	275,674	23,171	8.4
2006	500,820	48,032	9.6	222,374	25,120	11.3	278,446	22,912	8.2
2007	503,354	55,099	10.9	218,560	29,251	13.4	284,794	25,848	9.1
2008	526,679	56,600	10.7	215,721	29,004	13.4	310,958	27,596	8.9
2009	541,600	44,158	8.2	226,824	23,826	10.5	314,776	20,332	6.5
	Widow(er)s
1999	7,125	1,962	27.5	4,114	895	21.8	3,011	1,067	35.4
2000	6,379	1,572	24.6	3,872	734	19.0	2,507	838	33.4
2001	6,212	1,582	25.5	3,865	728	18.8	2,347	854	36.4
2002	6,461	1,394	21.6	4,041	650	16.1	2,420	744	30.7
2003	6,707	1,379	20.6	3,857	637	16.5	2,850	742	26.0
2004	6,497	1,351	20.8	3,472	566	16.3	3,025	785	26.0
2005	6,140	1,225	20.0	3,351	527	15.7	2,789	698	25.0
2006	6,002	1,174	19.6	3,128	439	14.0	2,874	735	25.6
2007	5,973	1,108	18.6	2,906	460	15.8	3,067	648	21.1
2008	6,183	875	14.2	2,720	377	13.9	3,463	498	14.4
2009	5,771	697	12.1	2,461	294	11.9	3,310	403	12.2
	Adult children
1999	5,716	1,368	23.9	2,569	616	24.0	3,147	752	23.9
2000	5,163	1,265	24.5	2,455	550	22.4	2,708	715	26.4
2001	5,036	1,007	20.0	2,264	432	19.1	2,772	575	20.7
2002	6,088	1,096	18.0	2,572	407	15.8	3,516	689	19.6
2003	6,555	1,151	17.6	2,301	360	15.6	4,254	791	18.6
2004	6,986	1,096	15.7	2,259	343	15.2	4,727	753	15.9
2005	6,799	1,147	16.9	2,213	333	15.0	4,586	814	17.7
2006	7,544	1,253	16.6	2,336	345	14.8	5,208	908	17.4
2007	9,829	1,390	14.1	2,879	399	13.9	6,950	991	14.3
2008	11,854	1,344	11.3	2,870	412	14.4	8,984	932	10.4
2009	11,718	957	8.2	2,504	276	11.0	9,214	681	7.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2010.
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 through 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: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 62. Medical decisions at the hearing level or above, by year of application and program, 1992–2009
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	290,068	211,696	73.0	157,001	124,015	79.0	133,067	87,681	65.9
2001	313,839	228,226	72.7	164,710	130,570	79.3	149,129	97,656	65.5
2002	369,909	267,547	72.3	189,697	150,812	79.5	180,212	116,735	64.8
2003	401,256	289,024	72.0	197,558	157,481	79.7	203,698	131,543	64.6
2004	413,530	299,437	72.4	195,964	158,510	80.9	217,566	140,927	64.8
2005	379,670	279,193	73.5	176,465	144,065	81.6	203,205	135,128	66.5
2006	374,152	272,110	72.7	171,472	139,456	81.3	202,680	132,654	65.4
2007	353,376	262,190	74.2	158,075	131,097	82.9	195,301	131,093	67.1
2008	307,742	228,739	74.3	134,818	112,533	83.5	172,924	116,206	67.2
2009	133,852	102,954	76.9	66,672	56,849	85.3	67,180	46,105	68.6
	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	285,620	208,667	73.1	153,649	121,651	79.2	131,971	87,016	65.9
2001	309,372	225,198	72.8	161,335	128,208	79.5	148,037	96,990	65.5
2002	364,658	263,968	72.4	185,829	148,051	79.7	178,829	115,917	64.8
2003	395,846	285,451	72.1	194,015	154,975	79.9	201,831	130,476	64.6
2004	408,350	296,000	72.5	192,730	156,163	81.0	215,620	139,837	64.9
2005	374,578	275,637	73.6	173,247	141,638	81.8	201,331	133,999	66.6
2006	368,999	268,615	72.8	168,290	137,164	81.5	200,709	131,451	65.5
2007	346,268	257,678	74.4	154,929	128,815	83.1	191,339	128,863	67.3
2008	299,645	223,666	74.6	131,980	110,421	83.7	167,665	113,245	67.5
2009	130,371	100,667	77.2	65,382	55,829	85.4	64,989	44,838	69.0
	Widow(er)s
1999	3,027	2,285	75.5	2,325	1,794	77.2	702	491	69.9
2000	3,140	2,388	76.1	2,414	1,870	77.5	726	518	71.3
2001	3,046	2,344	77.0	2,391	1,862	77.9	655	482	73.6
2002	3,471	2,690	77.5	2,679	2,113	78.9	792	577	72.9
2003	3,538	2,684	75.9	2,447	1,915	78.3	1,091	769	70.5
2004	3,243	2,552	78.7	2,201	1,787	81.2	1,042	765	73.4
2005	3,187	2,555	80.2	2,165	1,794	82.9	1,022	761	74.5
2006	3,127	2,536	81.1	2,055	1,704	82.9	1,072	832	77.6
2007	3,421	2,772	81.0	1,846	1,548	83.9	1,575	1,224	77.7
2008	3,517	2,864	81.4	1,647	1,398	84.9	1,870	1,466	78.4
2009	1,683	1,409	83.7	835	740	88.6	848	669	78.9
	Adult children
1999	1,181	587	49.7	851	459	53.9	330	128	38.8
2000	1,308	641	49.0	938	494	52.7	370	147	39.7
2001	1,421	684	48.1	984	500	50.8	437	184	42.1
2002	1,780	889	49.9	1,189	648	54.5	591	241	40.8
2003	1,872	889	47.5	1,096	591	53.9	776	298	38.4
2004	1,937	885	45.7	1,033	560	54.2	904	325	36.0
2005	1,905	1,001	52.5	1,053	633	60.1	852	368	43.2
2006	2,026	959	47.3	1,127	588	52.2	899	371	41.3
2007	3,687	1,740	47.2	1,300	734	56.5	2,387	1,006	42.1
2008	4,580	2,209	48.2	1,191	714	59.9	3,389	1,495	44.1
2009	1,798	878	48.8	455	280	61.5	1,343	598	44.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through October 2010.
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 through 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: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 63. Number and percentage distribution of final medical allowances, by year of application and reason for allowance, 1992–2009
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	766,046	100.0	31.1	6.2	29.2	33.5
2001	840,526	100.0	30.0	6.1	30.1	33.9
2002	898,093	100.0	28.5	5.3	30.1	36.1
2003	928,652	100.0	27.1	5.1	31.1	36.7
2004	956,510	100.0	26.5	5.0	31.6	36.9
2005	901,605	100.0	26.7	4.7	32.2	36.4
2006	880,664	100.0	26.7	4.6	32.2	36.5
2007	898,888	100.0	26.5	4.7	33.3	35.6
2008	911,444	100.0	27.0	5.5	36.1	31.4
2009	846,290	100.0	30.6	6.5	43.9	19.0
	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	695,006	100.0	31.7	6.5	30.6	31.2
2001	769,861	100.0	30.5	6.4	31.3	31.8
2002	823,934	100.0	29.0	5.6	31.4	34.0
2003	853,663	100.0	27.5	5.3	32.5	34.8
2004	879,604	100.0	26.8	5.2	33.0	34.9
2005	823,461	100.0	27.2	4.9	33.9	34.0
2006	802,429	100.0	27.2	4.8	33.9	34.1
2007	815,100	100.0	27.0	4.9	35.2	32.9
2008	824,988	100.0	27.5	5.8	38.4	28.3
2009	764,784	100.0	31.5	6.9	46.9	14.8
	Widow(er)s
1999	29,108	100.0	14.9	2.5	24.6	58.0
2000	29,679	100.0	12.8	2.5	26.3	58.4
2001	30,113	100.0	12.3	2.6	27.0	58.1
2002	30,606	100.0	11.4	2.1	26.6	59.9
2003	30,016	100.0	10.8	2.2	26.2	60.8
2004	30,469	100.0	10.2	1.9	26.4	61.5
2005	29,935	100.0	9.9	1.7	25.8	62.7
2006	29,178	100.0	9.7	1.5	24.4	64.4
2007	29,340	100.0	9.2	1.6	24.5	64.6
2008	29,808	100.0	9.0	1.8	25.7	63.4
2009	27,591	100.0	9.2	2.1	28.8	59.9
	Adult children
1999	39,624	100.0	35.9	3.2	7.4	53.5
2000	41,361	100.0	35.0	3.1	7.3	54.7
2001	40,552	100.0	33.0	3.0	8.0	56.0
2002	43,553	100.0	31.8	2.9	7.6	57.7
2003	44,973	100.0	31.0	2.7	8.2	58.1
2004	46,437	100.0	30.4	2.8	8.6	58.2
2005	48,209	100.0	28.8	2.5	8.4	60.3
2006	49,057	100.0	28.7	2.6	8.9	59.8
2007	54,448	100.0	28.5	2.6	9.1	59.8
2008	56,648	100.0	28.1	2.7	9.0	60.2
2009	53,915	100.0	29.1	2.9	9.8	58.2
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2010. Data for the hearing level or above are current through October 2010.
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 through 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: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.

Table 64. Number and percentage distribution of final medical denials, by year of application and reason for denial, 1992–2009
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	460,285	100.0	10.0	17.2	28.2	30.4	14.1
2001	500,429	100.0	9.2	16.7	28.0	31.1	14.9
2002	584,785	100.0	8.5	17.1	28.2	31.3	14.9
2003	636,667	100.0	7.5	17.7	28.2	31.7	14.9
2004	685,585	100.0	6.8	18.4	27.6	31.6	15.7
2005	650,015	100.0	6.5	19.2	26.7	31.4	16.3
2006	656,980	100.0	6.3	19.8	26.2	31.3	16.4
2007	630,387	100.0	6.4	20.5	26.2	30.6	16.4
2008	617,525	100.0	6.1	21.6	25.7	30.3	16.3
2009	655,030	100.0	5.2	22.4	25.0	30.2	17.0
	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	434,364	100.0	10.4	16.8	29.3	29.7	13.9
2001	474,551	100.0	9.5	16.4	29.0	30.4	14.7
2002	555,055	100.0	8.8	16.8	29.2	30.6	14.7
2003	603,655	100.0	7.7	17.4	29.2	31.0	14.6
2004	649,859	100.0	7.0	18.1	28.6	30.9	15.4
2005	614,498	100.0	6.7	19.0	27.7	30.6	16.0
2006	616,306	100.0	6.6	19.5	27.4	30.5	16.1
2007	587,435	100.0	6.7	20.2	27.6	29.6	15.9
2008	574,835	100.0	6.4	21.3	27.2	29.2	15.9
2009	608,999	100.0	5.5	22.3	26.5	29.0	16.7
	Widow(er)s
1999	9,735	100.0	5.6	29.0	31.8	22.7	10.8
2000	9,024	100.0	5.3	29.0	31.4	22.3	12.1
2001	8,751	100.0	4.7	27.6	31.2	22.8	13.7
2002	9,151	100.0	4.7	26.2	32.4	23.7	13.0
2003	9,759	100.0	4.2	26.5	32.7	23.4	13.3
2004	10,045	100.0	3.5	26.6	32.1	23.4	14.4
2005	9,700	100.0	3.5	26.8	32.0	23.1	14.7
2006	10,127	100.0	3.7	25.9	31.3	23.4	15.7
2007	9,078	100.0	3.7	27.5	31.0	21.9	15.9
2008	8,514	100.0	3.6	27.4	30.6	21.9	16.5
2009	8,286	100.0	3.0	28.6	29.8	21.6	17.0
	Adult children
1999	16,822	100.0	3.1	22.7	0.7	53.3	20.2
2000	16,897	100.0	2.8	22.9	0.7	51.9	21.7
2001	17,127	100.0	2.5	21.3	0.9	52.9	22.3
2002	20,579	100.0	2.3	21.6	0.8	53.6	21.7
2003	23,253	100.0	2.0	21.8	0.7	53.6	21.9
2004	25,681	100.0	1.9	22.1	0.5	52.5	23.0
2005	25,817	100.0	1.8	21.1	0.4	53.1	23.6
2006	30,547	100.0	1.8	23.5	0.4	50.6	23.8
2007	33,874	100.0	1.6	23.9	0.3	49.9	24.3
2008	34,176	100.0	1.5	24.8	0.2	50.5	23.0
2009	37,745	100.0	1.3	23.3	0.1	51.9	23.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2010. Data for the hearing level or above are current through October 2010.
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 through 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: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.