Data & Surveys

The DAF is an analytical file consisting of agency administrative data in an easy-to-use format. We create a new version of the file and documentation each year. The file contains historical, longitudinal, and one-time data on all beneficiaries with disabilities who participated in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs at any time between 1996 and the year of the file. Each DAF is an updated version of all prior DAF files, so users should use the most recent file available. For more information about the restricted access version of the data, see DAF Restricted Access File.

The CYSRS will be a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized children and young adults who were current or former SSI recipients. The CYSRS will collect data to address the following goals: describe the characteristics and experiences of SSI children and their families, understand the SSI application experiences of children awarded and denied SSI, understand the experiences of SSI children who leave the program because of medical improvement, understand how SSI child recipients transition to adulthood and fare as young adults, and compare the characteristics and experiences of current and former SSI child recipients to other children and young adults with and without disabilities.

The NBS collects data on a wide range of variables not available in the agency’s administrative systems, including socio-demographic information, health and functional status, health insurance, interest in work, barriers to work, use of services, employment, income, and experience with Social Security programs. The NBS Public Use File offers a wide variety of pertinent variables and topics for the general public to use.

The NSCF is a collection of data on the health status and functional limitations, health care utilization, health insurance coverage, receipt of services, SSI experience, socioeconomic status of children’s households, and housing characteristics of over 8,000 children who were receiving, had received, or were applying for SSI.

The NAS will help us better understand SSDI and SSI applicants’ experiences, their use of services, and the pathways they take before and after application. Some of the topics on the survey will be used to determine: the decision to apply, if representation was used during the appeal process, application, appeals, and early program experience, discrimination, emotional support and life satisfaction, demographic information and income and benefits.

Our disability process uses data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and, its companion, Selected Characteristics of Occupations, as primary references for information about jobs and job requirements. However, the Department of Labor (DOL) stopped updating the DOT in 1991. To address this, we partnered with DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to explore the National Compensation Survey (NCS) for updated occupational information. BLS used the NCS infrastructure to develop the Occupational Requirements Survey, collecting data since 2015.

The WD-FAB is an assessment tool by which respondents self-report information about their personal functioning. The objective of this study is to collect information from a sample of working-age SSDI program beneficiaries and SSI program recipients to help assess the feasibility and value of incorporating the WD-FAB into our continuing disability review process.

The objective of this study is to understand the needs (e.g., service, medical and employment) of individuals who, due to medical improvement, have exited or are likely to exit the SSDI program, the SSI program, or both. This project does not yet have results, but we will release a public use file containing deidentified data from the survey participants at the end of the study.

PROMISE was a joint project with the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services to promote positive outcomes for children who receive SSI and their families. The programs intended to provide educational, vocational, and other services to youth and make better use of existing resources by improving service coordination between state and local agencies. The public use files include a subset of the data collected for the evaluation’s impact analysis that assessed whether each PROMISE program improved the outcomes of the youth and families who were offered PROMISE services as of 18 months and as of five years after they enrolled in the program.

Our two fast-track processes, QDD and Compassionate Allowances, use technology to identify claimants with the most severe disabilities and allow us to expedite our decisions on those cases while maintaining accuracy. We have used QDD nationally since February 2008. We continue to refine the QDD predictive model to reflect the characteristics of the recent applicant population and optimize its ability to identify strong candidates for expedited processing. We also publish public use data files on QDD/Fast Track Processes. 

The RETAIN demonstration tests promising early intervention approaches to improve the labor force participation and retention of individuals with acquired injuries and disabilities and to reduce their future need for Social Security disability benefits. The final process analysis report is expected in September 2025, and the final impact analysis report is expected in November 2025. Restricted Access Files and a Public Use File will be generated prior to the end of the project in 2026.

The SED Public Use File (PUF) is an analytical file consisting of data acquired from 2944 enrollees who provided survey responses at baseline and on a quarterly basis throughout their 3-year enrollment in the SED. In addition, SSA administrative data on claiming behaviors (e.g., appeals) and outcomes (e.g., allowances and denials, payments) for participants during the study period are also included in the analytic file. The files available in the PUF provide deidentified data for study participants and present final outcomes from the study.