Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2012

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, 2002–2010

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging 41 percent for claims filed from 2002 through 2010. The percentage of applicants awarded benefits at the initial claims level averaged 26 percent over the same period and ranged from a high of 31 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 58 percent.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 2002–2010 (percent)
Year	Initial awards	Reconsideration awards	Hearings and Appeals Council awards	Pending final decision	Medical denials	Technical denials
2002	31.4	3.4	16.4	0.0	34.2	14.6
2003	28.0	3.0	15.6	0.0	32.7	20.6
2004	24.7	2.5	13.8	0.0	30.1	28.9
2005	25.3	2.5	14.1	0.0	31.0	27.1
2006	23.8	2.4	13.3	0.1	30.2	30.2
2007	24.1	2.6	12.8	0.3	28.7	31.5
2008	24.8	2.6	11.9	0.6	27.5	32.6
2009	24.7	2.4	11.1	1.8	27.1	32.8
2010	23.6	2.3	9.0	6.0	26.4	32.7

SOURCE: Tables 59–64.

NOTES: Data not shown for 2011 because incomplete data were available for some outcomes. Complete data will be included in next year's chart.

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, 1992–2010
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	456,467	3,817	766,047	1,938	56.1	62.6
2001	1,513,411	0	170,520	496,835	3,579	840,542	1,935	55.5	62.8
2002	1,715,710	0	231,067	580,430	4,067	898,047	2,099	52.3	60.7
2003	1,941,894	0	374,305	632,304	4,485	928,727	2,073	47.8	59.5
2004	2,262,119	0	616,830	681,005	5,680	956,959	1,645	42.3	58.3
2005	2,087,733	791	529,698	645,251	7,023	902,980	1,990	43.3	58.2
2006	2,164,391	2,066	612,218	656,918	7,342	883,899	1,948	40.9	57.2
2007	2,216,565	5,493	652,791	642,173	7,987	906,279	1,842	41.0	58.3
2008	2,358,630	14,224	717,977	653,444	9,089	962,084	1,812	41.0	59.3
2009	2,753,012	48,760	845,763	754,352	10,764	1,091,502	1,871	40.4	58.9
2010	2,871,142	168,367	878,834	768,681	11,986	1,041,411	1,863	38.5	57.3
	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	430,581	3,782	695,007	1,871	54.9	61.7
2001	1,414,524	0	168,231	470,999	3,537	769,877	1,880	54.4	62.0
2002	1,609,480	0	228,455	550,985	4,011	823,981	2,048	51.2	59.9
2003	1,831,154	0	371,334	599,578	4,428	853,812	2,002	46.6	58.7
2004	2,145,629	0	612,791	645,503	5,627	880,114	1,594	41.0	57.6
2005	1,970,277	782	525,782	609,991	6,929	824,877	1,916	41.9	57.3
2006	2,040,679	2,038	607,438	616,413	7,234	805,668	1,888	39.5	56.5
2007	2,083,897	5,393	647,539	598,984	7,872	822,334	1,775	39.6	57.7
2008	2,217,127	13,888	712,378	609,365	8,953	870,798	1,745	39.5	58.6
2009	2,595,028	47,368	839,773	702,928	10,615	992,550	1,794	39.0	58.3
2010	2,706,889	163,599	872,660	714,027	11,841	942,947	1,815	37.1	56.6
	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	41,065	0	1,540	8,941	18	30,547	19	74.4	77.4
2003	41,243	0	1,645	9,553	24	29,977	44	72.7	75.9
2004	42,449	0	2,072	9,900	22	30,431	24	71.7	75.5
2005	41,409	4	1,895	9,550	27	29,909	24	72.2	75.8
2006	41,468	12	2,194	10,021	38	29,180	23	70.4	74.4
2007	40,781	34	2,212	9,091	28	29,389	27	72.1	76.4
2008	42,140	98	2,329	8,633	33	31,026	21	73.8	78.2
2009	44,059	337	2,548	8,784	43	32,327	20	73.9	78.6
2010	46,055	1,358	2,652	9,214	38	32,774	19	73.3	78.0
	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	65,165	0	1,072	20,504	38	43,519	32	66.8	68.0
2003	69,497	0	1,326	23,173	33	44,938	27	64.7	66.0
2004	74,041	0	1,967	25,602	31	46,414	27	62.7	64.5
2005	76,047	5	2,021	25,710	67	48,194	50	63.4	65.2
2006	82,244	16	2,586	30,484	70	49,051	37	59.7	61.7
2007	91,887	66	3,040	34,098	87	54,556	40	59.4	61.5
2008	99,363	238	3,270	35,446	103	60,260	46	60.8	62.9
2009	113,925	1,055	3,442	42,640	106	66,625	57	59.0	61.0
2010	118,198	3,410	3,522	45,440	107	65,690	29	57.2	59.1
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data not shown for 2011 because incomplete data were available for some outcomes. Complete data will be included in next year's table.
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, 1992–2011
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	1,484,685	575,089	38.7	794,839	385,453	48.5	689,846	189,636	27.5
2003	1,567,607	583,758	37.2	804,688	383,225	47.6	762,919	200,533	26.3
2004	1,645,320	602,124	36.6	813,006	387,971	47.7	832,314	214,153	25.7
2005	1,558,072	573,335	36.8	762,437	369,349	48.4	795,635	203,986	25.6
2006	1,552,192	560,017	36.1	752,183	362,042	48.1	800,009	197,975	24.7
2007	1,563,809	580,915	37.1	756,227	376,131	49.7	807,582	204,784	25.4
2008	1,640,627	633,732	38.6	782,606	407,875	52.1	858,021	225,857	26.3
2009	1,907,066	732,859	38.4	921,567	479,943	52.1	985,499	252,916	25.7
2010	1,991,486	730,522	36.7	981,743	489,448	49.9	1,009,743	241,074	23.9
2011	1,922,833	676,813	35.2	958,273	458,262	47.8	964,560	218,551	22.7
	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	1,381,065	507,031	36.7	718,611	327,294	45.5	662,454	179,737	27.1
2003	1,459,838	514,871	35.3	728,169	324,769	44.6	731,669	190,102	26.0
2004	1,532,869	531,109	34.6	737,030	328,862	44.6	795,839	202,247	25.4
2005	1,444,532	501,089	34.7	685,218	308,900	45.1	759,314	192,189	25.3
2006	1,433,260	487,670	34.0	674,499	301,953	44.8	758,761	185,717	24.5
2007	1,436,398	504,097	35.1	675,129	313,216	46.4	761,269	190,881	25.1
2008	1,504,729	551,194	36.6	696,989	340,000	48.8	807,740	211,194	26.1
2009	1,755,092	643,307	36.7	830,006	406,985	49.0	925,086	236,322	25.5
2010	1,833,440	639,982	34.9	888,459	415,410	46.8	944,981	224,572	23.8
2011	1,775,354	594,349	33.5	871,697	390,695	44.8	903,657	203,654	22.5
	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	39,526	26,489	67.0	30,891	22,751	73.6	8,635	3,738	43.3
2003	39,598	25,960	65.6	30,216	22,213	73.5	9,382	3,747	39.9
2004	40,377	26,555	65.8	29,575	22,205	75.1	10,802	4,350	40.3
2005	39,514	26,151	66.2	29,198	21,989	75.3	10,316	4,162	40.3
2006	39,274	25,478	64.9	28,450	21,370	75.1	10,824	4,108	38.0
2007	38,569	25,471	66.0	27,585	21,161	76.7	10,984	4,310	39.2
2008	39,811	26,728	67.1	28,194	22,167	78.6	11,617	4,561	39.3
2009	41,505	27,778	66.9	28,926	22,782	78.8	12,579	4,996	39.7
2010	43,400	28,739	66.2	29,984	23,521	78.4	13,416	5,218	38.9
2011	40,879	26,679	65.3	28,101	21,933	78.1	12,778	4,746	37.1
	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	64,094	41,569	64.9	45,337	35,408	78.1	18,757	6,161	32.8
2003	68,171	42,927	63.0	46,303	36,243	78.3	21,868	6,684	30.6
2004	72,074	44,460	61.7	46,401	36,904	79.5	25,673	7,556	29.4
2005	74,026	46,095	62.3	48,021	38,460	80.1	26,005	7,635	29.4
2006	79,658	46,869	58.8	49,234	38,719	78.6	30,424	8,150	26.8
2007	88,842	51,347	57.8	53,513	41,754	78.0	35,329	9,593	27.2
2008	96,087	55,810	58.1	57,423	45,708	79.6	38,664	10,102	26.1
2009	110,469	61,774	55.9	62,635	50,176	80.1	47,834	11,598	24.2
2010	114,646	61,801	53.9	63,300	50,517	79.8	51,346	11,284	22.0
2011	106,600	55,785	52.3	58,475	45,634	78.0	48,125	10,151	21.1
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2012.
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, 1992–2011
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	502,441	57,460	11.4	249,822	31,212	12.5	252,619	26,248	10.4
2003	542,986	57,869	10.7	258,354	30,344	11.7	284,632	27,525	9.7
2004	558,585	56,536	10.1	255,237	28,941	11.3	303,348	27,595	9.1
2005	514,237	51,028	9.9	231,206	26,339	11.4	283,031	24,689	8.7
2006	514,372	50,415	9.8	227,854	25,868	11.4	286,518	24,547	8.6
2007	519,178	56,558	10.9	224,375	29,642	13.2	294,803	26,916	9.1
2008	546,360	59,170	10.8	222,832	29,917	13.4	323,528	29,253	9.0
2009	644,144	65,351	10.1	264,414	33,739	12.8	379,730	31,612	8.3
2010	698,994	63,975	9.2	295,992	34,582	11.7	403,002	29,393	7.3
2011	615,069	49,603	8.1	266,086	28,093	10.6	348,983	21,510	6.2
	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	489,974	54,974	11.2	243,259	30,157	12.4	246,715	24,817	10.1
2003	529,775	55,343	10.4	252,226	29,348	11.6	277,549	25,995	9.4
2004	545,135	54,091	9.9	249,524	28,032	11.2	295,611	26,059	8.8
2005	501,338	48,659	9.7	225,664	25,480	11.3	275,674	23,179	8.4
2006	500,846	47,990	9.6	222,400	25,086	11.3	278,446	22,904	8.2
2007	503,402	54,077	10.7	218,608	28,793	13.2	284,794	25,284	8.9
2008	527,714	56,811	10.8	216,909	29,085	13.4	310,805	27,726	8.9
2009	621,607	62,611	10.1	257,950	32,849	12.7	363,657	29,762	8.2
2010	675,389	61,400	9.1	289,565	33,734	11.6	385,824	27,666	7.2
2011	595,813	47,725	8.0	260,774	27,416	10.5	335,039	20,309	6.1
	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	6,390	1,392	21.8	3,996	649	16.2	2,394	743	31.0
2003	6,665	1,378	20.7	3,832	637	16.6	2,833	741	26.2
2004	6,474	1,349	20.8	3,456	566	16.4	3,018	783	25.9
2005	6,104	1,223	20.0	3,329	526	15.8	2,775	697	25.1
2006	5,984	1,172	19.6	3,119	437	14.0	2,865	735	25.7
2007	5,948	1,097	18.4	2,887	451	15.6	3,061	646	21.1
2008	6,347	908	14.3	2,858	389	13.6	3,489	519	14.9
2009	6,986	1,070	15.3	3,043	447	14.7	3,943	623	15.8
2010	7,376	1,024	13.9	3,113	449	14.4	4,263	575	13.5
2011	6,391	840	13.1	2,632	378	14.4	3,759	462	12.3
	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	6,077	1,094	18.0	2,567	406	15.8	3,510	688	19.6
2003	6,546	1,148	17.5	2,296	359	15.6	4,250	789	18.6
2004	6,976	1,096	15.7	2,257	343	15.2	4,719	753	16.0
2005	6,795	1,146	16.9	2,213	333	15.0	4,582	813	17.7
2006	7,542	1,253	16.6	2,335	345	14.8	5,207	908	17.4
2007	9,828	1,384	14.1	2,880	398	13.8	6,948	986	14.2
2008	12,299	1,451	11.8	3,065	443	14.5	9,234	1,008	10.9
2009	15,551	1,670	10.7	3,421	443	12.9	12,130	1,227	10.1
2010	16,229	1,551	9.6	3,314	399	12.0	12,915	1,152	8.9
2011	12,865	1,038	8.1	2,680	299	11.2	10,185	739	7.3
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2012.
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, 1992–2011
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	211,697	73.0	157,001	124,015	79.0	133,067	87,682	65.9
2001	313,839	228,242	72.7	164,710	130,576	79.3	149,129	97,666	65.5
2002	369,875	267,597	72.3	189,671	150,834	79.5	180,204	116,763	64.8
2003	401,746	289,173	72.0	197,765	157,553	79.7	203,981	131,620	64.5
2004	415,319	299,944	72.2	196,697	158,738	80.7	218,622	141,206	64.6
2005	383,505	280,607	73.2	177,954	144,676	81.3	205,551	135,931	66.1
2006	384,868	275,415	71.6	175,541	140,898	80.3	209,327	134,517	64.3
2007	381,783	270,648	70.9	167,870	134,455	80.1	213,913	136,193	63.7
2008	390,672	270,994	69.4	162,564	129,369	79.6	228,108	141,625	62.1
2009	431,932	295,163	68.3	183,381	144,651	78.9	248,551	150,512	60.6
2010	365,647	248,777	68.0	166,042	130,557	78.6	199,605	118,220	59.2
2011	89,663	64,102	71.5	46,706	37,933	81.2	42,957	26,169	60.9
	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	208,668	73.1	153,649	121,651	79.2	131,971	87,017	65.9
2001	309,372	225,214	72.8	161,335	128,214	79.5	148,037	97,000	65.5
2002	364,659	264,024	72.4	185,830	148,078	79.7	178,829	115,946	64.8
2003	396,351	285,600	72.1	194,232	155,047	79.8	202,119	130,553	64.6
2004	410,140	296,508	72.3	193,463	156,392	80.8	216,677	140,116	64.7
2005	378,414	277,045	73.2	174,737	142,246	81.4	203,677	134,799	66.2
2006	379,641	271,896	71.6	172,312	138,588	80.4	207,329	133,308	64.3
2007	374,022	265,935	71.1	164,486	132,087	80.3	209,536	133,848	63.9
2008	379,739	264,538	69.7	158,846	126,662	79.7	220,893	137,876	62.4
2009	419,936	288,426	68.7	179,678	141,982	79.0	240,258	146,444	61.0
2010	355,895	243,380	68.4	162,916	128,276	78.7	192,979	115,104	59.6
2011	87,373	62,701	71.8	45,793	37,248	81.3	41,580	25,453	61.2
	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	3,438	2,685	78.1	2,654	2,109	79.5	784	576	73.5
2003	3,525	2,683	76.1	2,438	1,914	78.5	1,087	769	70.7
2004	3,241	2,551	78.7	2,199	1,786	81.2	1,042	765	73.4
2005	3,183	2,559	80.4	2,163	1,796	83.0	1,020	763	74.8
2006	3,161	2,553	80.8	2,080	1,716	82.5	1,081	837	77.4
2007	3,607	2,848	79.0	1,944	1,592	81.9	1,663	1,256	75.5
2008	4,304	3,411	79.3	2,006	1,684	83.9	2,298	1,727	75.2
2009	4,431	3,499	79.0	2,009	1,696	84.4	2,422	1,803	74.4
2010	3,849	3,030	78.7	1,753	1,493	85.2	2,096	1,537	73.3
2011	1,090	880	80.7	556	472	84.9	534	408	76.4
	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	1,778	888	49.9	1,187	647	54.5	591	241	40.8
2003	1,870	890	47.6	1,095	592	54.1	775	298	38.5
2004	1,938	885	45.7	1,035	560	54.1	903	325	36.0
2005	1,908	1,003	52.6	1,054	634	60.2	854	369	43.2
2006	2,066	966	46.8	1,149	594	51.7	917	372	40.6
2007	4,154	1,865	44.9	1,440	776	53.9	2,714	1,089	40.1
2008	6,629	3,045	45.9	1,712	1,023	59.8	4,917	2,022	41.1
2009	7,565	3,238	42.8	1,694	973	57.4	5,871	2,265	38.6
2010	5,903	2,367	40.1	1,373	788	57.4	4,530	1,579	34.9
2011	1,200	521	43.4	357	213	59.7	843	308	36.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through July 2012.
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, 1992–2011
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	766,047	100.0	31.1	6.2	29.2	33.5
2001	840,542	100.0	30.0	6.1	30.1	33.9
2002	898,047	100.0	28.5	5.3	30.1	36.1
2003	928,727	100.0	27.1	5.1	31.1	36.7
2004	956,959	100.0	26.5	5.0	31.6	36.9
2005	902,980	100.0	26.7	4.7	32.2	36.5
2006	883,899	100.0	26.6	4.6	32.1	36.8
2007	906,279	100.0	26.3	4.6	33.0	36.1
2008	962,084	100.0	25.7	5.2	34.4	34.7
2009	1,091,502	100.0	24.6	5.3	36.1	33.9
2010	1,041,411	100.0	24.8	5.5	38.9	30.9
2011	789,426	100.0	29.6	6.5	48.6	15.3
	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	695,007	100.0	31.7	6.5	30.6	31.2
2001	769,877	100.0	30.5	6.4	31.3	31.8
2002	823,981	100.0	29.0	5.6	31.4	34.0
2003	853,812	100.0	27.5	5.3	32.5	34.8
2004	880,114	100.0	26.8	5.2	33.0	35.0
2005	824,877	100.0	27.1	4.9	33.8	34.1
2006	805,668	100.0	27.1	4.8	33.8	34.4
2007	822,334	100.0	26.8	4.9	34.9	33.5
2008	870,798	100.0	26.2	5.5	36.5	31.7
2009	992,550	100.0	25.2	5.6	38.3	31.0
2010	942,947	100.0	25.4	5.8	41.4	27.4
2011	703,698	100.0	30.8	7.0	52.7	9.5
	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	30,547	100.0	11.4	2.1	26.5	60.0
2003	29,977	100.0	10.8	2.2	26.1	60.9
2004	30,431	100.0	10.2	1.9	26.3	61.5
2005	29,909	100.0	9.8	1.7	25.8	62.7
2006	29,180	100.0	9.6	1.5	24.4	64.4
2007	29,389	100.0	9.2	1.6	24.5	64.7
2008	31,026	100.0	8.7	1.7	24.9	64.6
2009	32,327	100.0	8.2	1.9	26.2	63.7
2010	32,774	100.0	8.0	1.9	26.3	63.7
2011	28,391	100.0	8.8	1.9	28.3	60.9
	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	43,519	100.0	31.7	2.9	7.6	57.8
2003	44,938	100.0	31.0	2.7	8.2	58.2
2004	46,414	100.0	30.4	2.8	8.6	58.3
2005	48,194	100.0	28.8	2.5	8.4	60.3
2006	49,051	100.0	28.6	2.6	8.9	59.9
2007	54,556	100.0	28.4	2.6	9.1	59.9
2008	60,260	100.0	26.7	2.6	8.6	62.1
2009	66,625	100.0	25.0	2.5	8.8	63.7
2010	65,690	100.0	24.3	2.4	8.6	64.7
2011	57,337	100.0	25.1	2.6	8.6	63.7
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2012. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2012.
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, 1992–2011
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	460,284	100.0	10.0	17.2	28.2	30.4	14.1
2001	500,414	100.0	9.2	16.7	28.0	31.1	14.9
2002	584,497	100.0	8.5	17.1	28.2	31.3	14.9
2003	636,789	100.0	7.5	17.7	28.3	31.8	14.9
2004	686,685	100.0	6.8	18.4	27.6	31.6	15.6
2005	652,274	100.0	6.5	19.1	26.7	31.5	16.2
2006	664,260	100.0	6.3	19.7	26.3	31.5	16.3
2007	650,160	100.0	6.3	20.4	26.3	31.0	16.0
2008	662,533	100.0	5.8	21.5	25.9	31.2	15.6
2009	765,116	100.0	4.8	22.7	25.2	31.7	15.6
2010	780,667	100.0	4.3	23.8	24.3	31.1	16.4
2011	681,009	100.0	4.7	24.6	21.4	33.5	15.8
	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	434,363	100.0	10.4	16.8	29.3	29.7	13.9
2001	474,536	100.0	9.5	16.4	29.0	30.4	14.7
2002	554,996	100.0	8.8	16.8	29.2	30.6	14.7
2003	604,006	100.0	7.7	17.4	29.2	31.0	14.6
2004	651,130	100.0	7.0	18.1	28.6	30.9	15.4
2005	616,920	100.0	6.7	18.9	27.7	30.7	15.9
2006	623,647	100.0	6.5	19.5	27.4	30.6	15.9
2007	606,856	100.0	6.6	20.1	27.7	30.0	15.6
2008	618,318	100.0	6.1	21.2	27.3	30.1	15.2
2009	713,543	100.0	5.0	22.6	26.6	30.6	15.2
2010	725,868	100.0	4.5	23.7	25.8	29.9	16.1
2011	631,552	100.0	5.0	24.5	22.7	32.4	15.5
	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	8,959	100.0	4.8	25.5	32.9	23.9	13.0
2003	9,577	100.0	4.2	25.7	33.1	23.7	13.3
2004	9,922	100.0	3.5	26.1	32.4	23.6	14.4
2005	9,577	100.0	3.6	26.2	32.3	23.3	14.6
2006	10,059	100.0	3.8	25.4	31.6	23.6	15.6
2007	9,119	100.0	3.7	27.1	31.3	22.0	15.8
2008	8,666	100.0	3.4	27.6	30.9	21.9	16.2
2009	8,827	100.0	2.8	28.9	30.2	21.9	16.2
2010	9,252	100.0	2.8	29.6	27.8	23.6	16.2
2011	8,580	100.0	3.3	27.6	27.7	25.2	16.2
	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	20,542	100.0	2.3	21.6	0.8	53.6	21.7
2003	23,206	100.0	2.0	21.8	0.7	53.6	21.9
2004	25,633	100.0	1.9	22.0	0.5	52.6	23.0
2005	25,777	100.0	1.8	21.1	0.4	53.0	23.6
2006	30,554	100.0	1.8	23.5	0.4	50.6	23.8
2007	34,185	100.0	1.6	23.9	0.3	50.0	24.1
2008	35,549	100.0	1.5	24.8	0.2	51.0	22.6
2009	42,746	100.0	1.2	23.4	0.1	53.3	22.0
2010	45,547	100.0	1.3	24.7	0.1	52.4	21.6
2011	40,877	100.0	1.1	25.9	0.0	51.3	21.6
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2012. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2012.
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.