Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2007

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, 1996–2006

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging nearly 48 percent for claims filed from 1996 through 2006. The percentage of applicants awarded benefits at the initial claims level averaged 31 percent over the same period and ranged from a high of about 35 percent to a low of 25 percent. The percentage of applicants awarded at the reconsideration and hearing levels are relatively constant, averaging 4 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Denied disability claims have averaged about 49 percent.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 1996–2006 (percent)
Year	Initial awards	Reconsideration awards	Hearings and Appeals Council awards	Pending final decision	Medical denials	Technical denials
1997	30.6	5.1	16.0	0.0	38.6	9.7
1998	32.7	5.4	15.7	0.0	37.1	9.0
1999	33.9	4.9	15.9	0.2	35.8	9.3
2000	34.4	4.4	15.9	0.3	34.0	11.0
2001	34.9	3.9	15.3	0.4	33.2	12.3
2002	31.5	3.6	15.6	0.9	33.9	14.6
2003	28.1	3.2	13.6	3.1	31.5	20.6
2004	24.7	2.6	6.9	9.7	27.2	29.0
2005	25.0	1.8	1.6	15.1	29.0	27.6
2006	23.5	1.9	1.8	15.1	27.2	30.4

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, 1992–2006
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	1,265,055	0	104,379	446,317	4,062	708,439	1,858	56.0	61.3
2000	1,364,396	2,966	136,119	456,698	3,828	762,846	1,939	56.0	62.5
2001	1,513,536	3,482	170,540	496,992	3,588	837,000	1,934	55.4	62.7
2002	1,716,221	5,689	231,067	580,474	4,076	892,816	2,099	52.2	60.6
2003	1,942,433	13,376	374,247	628,073	4,510	920,152	2,075	47.7	59.4
2004	2,262,548	58,399	616,424	656,755	5,741	923,579	1,650	41.9	58.3
2005	2,080,201	178,423	529,261	593,914	7,304	769,301	1,998	40.5	56.3
2006	2,140,112	310,770	610,681	591,977	7,655	617,054	1,975	33.7	50.9
	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	96,719	422,017	4,207	613,114	2,044	53.9	59.2
1999	1,167,664	0	102,353	419,800	4,014	639,711	1,786	54.8	60.3
2000	1,265,214	2,849	134,013	430,889	3,793	691,798	1,872	54.8	61.6
2001	1,414,598	3,361	168,252	471,231	3,545	766,330	1,879	54.3	61.9
2002	1,609,612	5,489	228,456	550,906	4,020	818,693	2,048	51.0	59.8
2003	1,831,314	13,081	371,277	595,294	4,452	845,206	2,004	46.5	58.6
2004	2,145,775	57,749	612,388	621,311	5,688	847,040	1,599	40.6	57.6
2005	1,966,118	176,293	525,353	558,717	7,205	696,627	1,923	38.9	55.3
2006	2,026,017	306,932	605,998	551,554	7,547	552,068	1,918	32.1	49.9
	Widow(er)s
1999	40,055	0	1,173	9,719	17	29,109	37	72.7	75.0
2000	39,996	60	1,258	8,980	11	29,658	29	74.3	76.8
2001	40,238	62	1,344	8,694	13	30,106	19	74.9	77.6
2002	41,325	103	1,539	9,086	18	30,560	19	74.1	77.1
2003	41,473	158	1,645	9,631	24	29,971	44	72.5	75.7
2004	42,626	308	2,072	9,946	22	30,254	24	71.5	75.3
2005	40,776	1,128	1,897	9,762	29	27,936	24	70.5	74.1
2006	39,259	2,051	2,162	10,605	43	24,377	21	65.5	69.7
	Adult children
1999	57,336	0	853	16,798	31	39,619	35	69.1	70.2
2000	59,186	57	848	16,829	24	41,390	38	70.0	71.1
2001	58,700	59	944	17,067	30	40,564	36	69.2	70.4
2002	65,284	97	1,072	20,482	38	43,563	32	66.8	68.0
2003	69,646	137	1,325	23,148	34	44,975	27	64.7	66.0
2004	74,147	342	1,964	25,498	31	46,285	27	62.7	64.5
2005	73,307	1,002	2,011	25,435	70	44,738	51	61.9	63.8
2006	74,836	1,787	2,521	29,818	65	40,609	36	55.6	57.7
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through August 2007. Data for the hearing level or above are current through September 2007.
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, 1992–2006
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	1,160,676	459,999	39.6	649,867	313,676	48.3	510,809	146,323	28.6
2000	1,228,247	501,947	40.9	688,232	340,331	49.5	540,015	161,616	29.9
2001	1,342,950	560,106	41.7	742,908	379,872	51.1	600,042	180,234	30.0
2002	1,485,084	576,919	38.8	795,125	386,247	48.6	689,959	190,672	27.6
2003	1,568,023	585,868	37.4	805,007	384,055	47.7	763,016	201,813	26.4
2004	1,645,407	603,918	36.7	812,999	388,749	47.8	832,408	215,169	25.8
2005	1,549,042	567,700	36.6	753,820	364,463	48.3	795,222	203,237	25.6
2006	1,525,952	541,498	35.5	732,810	347,947	47.5	793,142	193,551	24.4
	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	1,041,382	374,376	35.9	550,793	238,989	43.4	490,589	135,387	27.6
1999	1,065,311	397,335	37.3	578,768	259,910	44.9	486,543	137,425	28.2
2000	1,131,172	436,606	38.6	615,410	284,388	46.2	515,762	152,218	29.5
2001	1,246,303	494,907	39.7	670,611	324,189	48.3	575,692	170,718	29.7
2002	1,381,090	508,659	36.8	718,636	327,949	45.6	662,454	180,710	27.3
2003	1,459,880	516,756	35.4	728,214	325,430	44.7	731,666	191,326	26.1
2004	1,532,677	532,755	34.8	736,841	329,523	44.7	795,836	203,232	25.5
2005	1,438,896	498,835	34.7	679,875	307,144	45.2	759,021	191,691	25.3
2006	1,416,592	478,214	33.8	663,696	296,039	44.6	752,896	182,175	24.2
	Widow(er)s
1999	38,882	24,933	64.1	29,602	21,291	71.9	9,280	3,642	39.2
2000	38,738	25,781	66.6	29,880	21,997	73.6	8,858	3,784	42.7
2001	38,894	26,242	67.5	30,284	22,458	74.2	8,610	3,784	43.9
2002	39,785	26,588	66.8	31,067	22,815	73.4	8,718	3,773	43.3
2003	39,827	26,054	65.4	30,372	22,274	73.3	9,455	3,780	40.0
2004	40,551	26,634	65.7	29,695	22,264	75.0	10,856	4,370	40.3
2005	38,870	25,427	65.4	28,531	21,351	74.8	10,339	4,076	39.4
2006	37,082	23,320	62.9	26,412	19,543	74.0	10,670	3,777	35.4
	Adult children
1999	56,483	37,731	66.8	41,497	32,475	78.3	14,986	5,256	35.1
2000	58,337	39,560	67.8	42,942	33,946	79.1	15,395	5,614	36.5
2001	57,753	38,957	67.5	42,013	33,225	79.1	15,740	5,732	36.4
2002	64,209	41,672	64.9	45,422	35,483	78.1	18,787	6,189	32.9
2003	68,316	43,058	63.0	46,421	36,351	78.3	21,895	6,707	30.6
2004	72,179	44,529	61.7	46,463	36,962	79.6	25,716	7,567	29.4
2005	71,276	43,438	60.9	45,414	35,968	79.2	25,862	7,470	28.9
2006	72,278	39,964	55.3	42,702	32,365	75.8	29,576	7,599	25.7
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2007.
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, 1992–2006
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	398,203	61,143	15.4	210,376	34,724	16.5	187,827	26,419	14.1
2000	408,564	58,590	14.3	215,481	33,233	15.4	193,083	25,357	13.1
2001	435,205	58,417	13.4	222,325	32,590	14.7	212,880	25,827	12.1
2002	502,659	60,482	12.0	250,201	32,881	13.1	252,458	27,601	10.9
2003	542,612	60,471	11.1	258,464	31,725	12.3	284,148	28,746	10.1
2004	555,085	57,711	10.4	253,754	29,625	11.7	301,331	28,086	9.3
2005	503,036	50,226	10.0	223,641	25,960	11.6	279,395	24,266	8.7
2006	449,053	39,508	8.8	196,944	20,575	10.4	252,109	18,933	7.5
	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	384,996	61,742	16.0	199,291	34,043	17.1	185,705	27,699	14.9
1999	385,426	57,808	15.0	203,713	33,192	16.3	181,713	24,616	13.5
2000	397,068	55,762	14.0	209,183	31,946	15.3	187,885	23,816	12.7
2001	424,028	55,822	13.2	216,226	31,420	14.5	207,802	24,402	11.7
2002	490,213	57,961	11.8	243,634	31,809	13.1	246,579	26,152	10.6
2003	529,454	57,885	10.9	252,355	30,711	12.2	277,099	27,174	9.8
2004	541,726	55,259	10.2	248,086	28,707	11.6	293,640	26,552	9.0
2005	490,680	48,273	9.8	218,449	25,177	11.5	272,231	23,096	8.5
2006	438,562	38,274	8.7	192,879	20,063	10.4	245,683	18,211	7.4
	Widow(er)s
1999	7,109	1,983	27.9	4,109	917	22.3	3,000	1,066	35.5
2000	6,354	1,574	24.8	3,855	738	19.1	2,499	836	33.5
2001	6,192	1,599	25.8	3,859	741	19.2	2,333	858	36.8
2002	6,415	1,435	22.4	4,014	667	16.6	2,401	768	32.0
2003	6,661	1,443	21.7	3,834	660	17.2	2,827	783	27.7
2004	6,433	1,371	21.3	3,439	583	17.0	2,994	788	26.3
2005	5,875	1,012	17.2	3,137	473	15.1	2,738	539	19.7
2006	4,850	635	13.1	2,397	302	12.6	2,453	333	13.6
	Adult children
1999	5,668	1,352	23.9	2,554	615	24.1	3,114	737	23.7
2000	5,142	1,254	24.4	2,443	549	22.5	2,699	705	26.1
2001	4,985	996	20.0	2,240	429	19.2	2,745	567	20.7
2002	6,031	1,086	18.0	2,553	405	15.9	3,478	681	19.6
2003	6,497	1,143	17.6	2,275	354	15.6	4,222	789	18.7
2004	6,926	1,081	15.6	2,229	335	15.0	4,697	746	15.9
2005	6,481	941	14.5	2,055	310	15.1	4,426	631	14.3
2006	5,641	599	10.6	1,668	210	12.6	3,973	389	9.8
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2007.
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, 1992–2006
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	263,812	189,155	71.7	144,168	112,079	77.7	119,644	77,076	64.4
2000	284,953	204,248	71.7	154,344	120,030	77.8	130,609	84,218	64.5
2001	308,688	220,411	71.4	162,139	126,561	78.1	146,549	93,850	64.0
2002	361,417	257,514	71.3	185,968	146,018	78.5	175,449	111,496	63.5
2003	385,401	275,888	71.6	191,077	151,606	79.3	194,324	124,282	64.0
2004	352,840	263,600	74.7	171,803	142,469	82.9	181,037	121,131	66.9
2005	196,457	153,373	78.1	97,354	82,914	85.2	99,103	70,459	71.1
2006	46,148	38,023	82.4	24,582	21,755	88.5	21,566	16,268	75.4
	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	251,485	179,040	71.2	134,882	104,729	77.6	116,603	74,311	63.7
1999	259,678	186,354	71.8	141,045	109,893	77.9	118,633	76,461	64.5
2000	280,672	201,302	71.7	151,094	117,730	77.9	129,578	83,572	64.5
2001	304,420	217,480	71.4	158,875	124,257	78.2	145,545	93,223	64.1
2002	356,503	254,121	71.3	182,254	143,349	78.7	174,249	110,772	63.6
2003	380,486	272,569	71.6	187,741	149,213	79.5	192,745	123,356	64.0
2004	348,450	260,625	74.8	169,052	140,429	83.1	179,398	120,196	67.0
2005	193,828	151,442	78.1	95,628	81,551	85.3	98,200	69,891	71.2
2006	45,466	37,498	82.5	24,152	21,401	88.6	21,314	16,097	75.5
	Widow(er)s
1999	2,978	2,230	74.9	2,288	1,745	76.3	690	485	70.3
2000	3,045	2,332	76.6	2,352	1,826	77.6	693	506	73.0
2001	2,940	2,284	77.7	2,327	1,823	78.3	613	461	75.2
2002	3,277	2,556	78.0	2,586	2,049	79.2	691	507	73.4
2003	3,250	2,518	77.5	2,320	1,841	79.4	930	677	72.8
2004	2,853	2,273	79.7	1,935	1,594	82.4	918	679	74.0
2005	1,855	1,521	82.0	1,295	1,100	84.9	560	421	75.2
2006	512	443	86.5	345	307	89.0	167	136	81.4
	Adult children
1999	1,156	571	49.4	835	441	52.8	321	130	40.5
2000	1,236	614	49.7	898	474	52.8	338	140	41.4
2001	1,328	647	48.7	937	481	51.3	391	166	42.5
2002	1,637	837	51.1	1,128	620	55.0	509	217	42.6
2003	1,665	801	48.1	1,016	552	54.3	649	249	38.4
2004	1,537	702	45.7	816	446	54.7	721	256	35.5
2005	774	410	53.0	431	263	61.0	343	147	42.9
2006	170	82	48.2	85	47	55.3	85	35	41.2
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through September 2007.
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, 1992–2006
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	708,439	100.0	33.0	5.9	27.0	34.1
2000	762,846	100.0	31.3	6.2	29.3	33.2
2001	837,000	100.0	30.1	6.1	30.2	33.6
2002	892,816	100.0	28.7	5.4	30.3	35.6
2003	920,152	100.0	27.4	5.1	31.4	36.1
2004	923,579	100.0	27.4	5.1	32.8	34.6
2005	769,301	100.0	31.0	5.4	37.1	26.5
2006	617,054	100.0	36.9	6.2	43.3	13.5
	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	613,114	100.0	35.5	6.6	27.0	31.0
1999	639,711	100.0	33.6	6.3	28.3	31.8
2000	691,798	100.0	31.8	6.6	30.8	30.8
2001	766,330	100.0	30.6	6.4	31.5	31.4
2002	818,693	100.0	29.2	5.6	31.7	33.5
2003	845,206	100.0	27.8	5.4	32.8	34.1
2004	847,040	100.0	27.9	5.4	34.3	32.4
2005	696,627	100.0	31.9	5.7	39.3	23.1
2006	552,068	100.0	38.4	6.7	46.5	8.5
	Widow(er)s
1999	29,109	100.0	14.9	2.5	24.6	58.0
2000	29,658	100.0	12.8	2.5	26.3	58.4
2001	30,106	100.0	12.3	2.6	27.0	58.1
2002	30,560	100.0	11.5	2.1	26.6	59.9
2003	29,971	100.0	10.8	2.2	26.2	60.7
2004	30,254	100.0	10.3	2.0	26.6	61.2
2005	27,936	100.0	10.5	1.8	27.1	60.6
2006	24,377	100.0	11.1	1.7	27.6	59.5
	Adult children
1999	39,619	100.0	35.9	3.2	7.4	53.5
2000	41,390	100.0	35.0	3.1	7.3	54.7
2001	40,564	100.0	33.0	3.0	8.0	56.0
2002	43,563	100.0	31.8	2.9	7.6	57.7
2003	44,975	100.0	31.0	2.7	8.2	58.1
2004	46,285	100.0	30.5	2.8	8.6	58.1
2005	44,738	100.0	30.5	2.7	8.7	58.1
2006	40,609	100.0	32.8	3.0	9.8	54.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through August 2007. Data for the hearing level or above are current through September 2007.
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, 1992–2006
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	450,379	100.0	10.2	17.8	28.3	30.9	12.7
2000	460,526	100.0	10.1	17.2	28.3	30.4	14.0
2001	500,580	100.0	9.2	16.7	28.1	31.2	14.8
2002	584,550	100.0	8.5	17.1	28.3	31.3	14.8
2003	632,583	100.0	7.5	17.7	28.3	31.7	14.9
2004	662,496	100.0	6.9	18.5	27.4	31.2	16.0
2005	601,218	100.0	6.8	19.1	26.4	30.6	17.2
2006	599,632	100.0	6.6	19.2	26.2	30.7	17.3
	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	426,224	100.0	10.8	18.3	27.8	30.8	12.2
1999	423,814	100.0	10.6	17.4	29.3	30.1	12.5
2000	434,682	100.0	10.4	16.7	29.3	29.8	13.7
2001	474,776	100.0	9.6	16.3	29.0	30.5	14.6
2002	554,926	100.0	8.8	16.8	29.2	30.7	14.6
2003	599,746	100.0	7.8	17.4	29.3	31.0	14.6
2004	626,999	100.0	7.2	18.2	28.5	30.5	15.7
2005	565,922	100.0	7.0	18.8	27.5	29.7	16.9
2006	559,101	100.0	7.0	18.9	27.4	29.7	17.0
	Widow(er)s
1999	9,736	100.0	5.6	29.1	31.8	22.7	10.8
2000	8,991	100.0	5.2	29.0	31.4	22.4	12.0
2001	8,707	100.0	4.6	27.6	31.1	22.9	13.6
2002	9,104	100.0	4.7	26.2	32.4	23.7	13.0
2003	9,655	100.0	4.2	26.5	32.7	23.3	13.3
2004	9,968	100.0	3.6	26.5	32.1	23.4	14.4
2005	9,791	100.0	3.6	26.0	32.2	23.7	14.6
2006	10,648	100.0	4.1	24.3	31.8	24.6	15.2
	Adult children
1999	16,829	100.0	3.1	22.7	0.7	53.3	20.1
2000	16,853	100.0	2.9	22.9	0.7	51.9	21.7
2001	17,097	100.0	2.5	21.3	0.9	52.9	22.3
2002	20,520	100.0	2.3	21.6	0.8	53.5	21.7
2003	23,182	100.0	2.0	21.8	0.7	53.6	21.9
2004	25,529	100.0	1.9	22.0	0.5	52.4	23.1
2005	25,505	100.0	1.9	20.9	0.4	53.1	23.7
2006	29,883	100.0	1.8	23.2	0.4	50.7	23.9
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through August 2007. Data for the hearing level or above are current through September 2007.
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.