Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2008

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, 1998–2007

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging nearly 46 percent for claims filed from 1998 through 2007. 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 24 percent. The percentage of applicants awarded at the reconsideration and hearing levels are averaging 4 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Denied disability claims have averaged over 51 percent.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 1998–2007 (percent)
Year	Initial awards	Reconsideration awards	Hearings and Appeals Council awards	Pending final decision	Medical denials	Technical denials
1998	32.7	5.4	15.7	0.0	37.1	9.0
1999	33.9	4.9	16.0	0.0	35.9	9.3
2000	34.4	4.4	15.9	0.0	34.3	11.0
2001	34.9	3.9	15.4	0.2	33.4	12.3
2002	31.5	3.6	15.8	0.2	34.3	14.6
2003	28.1	3.2	15.0	0.3	32.7	20.6
2004	24.8	2.6	13.2	0.7	29.8	28.9
2005	25.4	2.5	12.5	2.4	30.2	27.1
2006	23.8	2.4	7.1	9.0	27.4	30.2
2007	23.8	2.3	1.8	14.1	26.4	31.7

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, 1992–2007
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	446,226	4,062	708,530	1,858	56.0	61.3
2000	1,364,396	0	136,148	459,454	3,828	763,027	1,939	55.9	62.4
2001	1,513,536	2,238	170,553	497,888	3,587	837,336	1,934	55.4	62.7
2002	1,716,221	3,235	231,077	581,969	4,075	893,766	2,099	52.2	60.5
2003	1,942,433	6,261	374,288	632,278	4,500	923,032	2,074	47.7	59.3
2004	2,262,548	15,608	616,764	675,565	5,707	947,258	1,646	42.2	58.3
2005	2,087,418	46,849	529,475	630,043	7,073	871,979	1,999	42.7	57.9
2006	2,158,367	186,203	611,442	599,756	7,612	751,390	1,964	38.1	55.4
2007	2,197,193	296,058	651,411	590,940	8,404	648,378	2,002	34.1	52.1
	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	1,167,664	0	102,353	419,716	4,014	639,795	1,786	54.8	60.3
2000	1,265,214	0	134,041	433,542	3,793	691,966	1,872	54.7	61.4
2001	1,414,598	2,180	168,265	472,076	3,544	766,654	1,879	54.3	61.9
2002	1,609,612	3,120	228,465	552,337	4,019	819,623	2,048	51.0	59.7
2003	1,831,314	6,061	371,317	599,431	4,442	848,060	2,003	46.5	58.5
2004	2,145,775	15,454	612,724	639,915	5,654	870,433	1,595	40.9	57.5
2005	1,969,765	46,331	525,566	594,730	6,979	794,234	1,925	41.3	57.0
2006	2,037,326	184,002	606,681	559,154	7,501	678,083	1,905	36.6	54.6
2007	2,073,668	292,113	646,240	546,993	8,288	578,092	1,942	32.4	51.2
	Widow(er)s
1999	40,055	0	1,173	9,717	17	29,111	37	72.7	75.0
2000	39,996	0	1,258	9,035	11	29,663	29	74.2	76.7
2001	40,238	31	1,344	8,722	13	30,109	19	74.9	77.6
2002	41,325	56	1,539	9,117	18	30,576	19	74.1	77.0
2003	41,473	106	1,645	9,668	24	29,986	44	72.5	75.7
2004	42,626	68	2,073	10,022	22	30,417	24	71.5	75.2
2005	41,559	229	1,894	9,641	27	29,744	24	72.0	75.5
2006	40,994	1,151	2,188	10,352	42	27,239	22	68.4	72.4
2007	38,827	1,864	2,189	10,025	27	24,696	26	66.8	71.1
	Adult children
1999	57,336	0	853	16,793	31	39,624	35	69.1	70.3
2000	59,186	0	849	16,877	24	41,398	38	69.9	71.1
2001	58,700	27	944	17,090	30	40,573	36	69.2	70.4
2002	65,284	59	1,073	20,515	38	43,567	32	66.8	68.0
2003	69,646	94	1,326	23,179	34	44,986	27	64.7	66.0
2004	74,147	86	1,967	25,628	31	46,408	27	62.7	64.4
2005	76,094	289	2,015	25,672	67	48,001	50	63.3	65.2
2006	80,047	1,050	2,573	30,250	69	46,068	37	58.3	60.4
2007	84,698	2,081	2,982	33,922	89	45,590	34	55.2	57.3
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for all levels are current through August 2008.
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, 1992–2007
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	1,228,248	501,947	40.9	688,233	340,331	49.4	540,015	161,616	29.9
2001	1,342,953	560,106	41.7	742,911	379,872	51.1	600,042	180,234	30.0
2002	1,485,088	576,919	38.8	795,129	386,247	48.6	689,959	190,672	27.6
2003	1,568,038	585,868	37.4	805,022	384,055	47.7	763,016	201,813	26.4
2004	1,645,554	603,918	36.7	813,146	388,749	47.8	832,408	215,169	25.8
2005	1,557,437	574,476	36.9	761,720	369,844	48.6	795,717	204,632	25.7
2006	1,545,009	556,490	36.0	745,388	358,500	48.1	799,621	197,990	24.8
2007	1,542,257	562,460	36.5	738,930	361,496	48.9	803,327	200,964	25.0
	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	1,065,311	397,335	37.3	578,768	259,910	44.9	486,543	137,425	28.2
2000	1,131,173	436,606	38.6	615,411	284,388	46.2	515,762	152,218	29.5
2001	1,246,306	494,907	39.7	670,614	324,189	48.3	575,692	170,718	29.7
2002	1,381,094	508,659	36.8	718,640	327,949	45.6	662,454	180,710	27.3
2003	1,459,894	516,756	35.4	728,228	325,430	44.7	731,666	191,326	26.1
2004	1,532,823	532,755	34.8	736,987	329,523	44.7	795,836	203,232	25.5
2005	1,443,702	502,158	34.8	684,393	309,362	45.2	759,309	192,796	25.4
2006	1,428,755	486,915	34.1	670,269	300,853	44.9	758,486	186,062	24.5
2007	1,423,971	494,352	34.7	666,052	306,560	46.0	757,919	187,792	24.8
	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	40,552	26,634	65.7	29,696	22,264	75.0	10,856	4,370	40.3
2005	39,663	26,216	66.1	29,295	22,028	75.2	10,368	4,188	40.4
2006	38,799	24,890	64.2	27,960	20,932	74.9	10,839	3,958	36.5
2007	36,624	23,507	64.2	25,732	19,432	75.5	10,892	4,075	37.4
	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	68,317	43,058	63.0	46,422	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	74,072	46,102	62.2	48,032	38,454	80.1	26,040	7,648	29.4
2006	77,455	44,685	57.7	47,159	36,715	77.9	30,296	7,970	26.3
2007	81,662	44,601	54.6	47,146	35,504	75.3	34,516	9,097	26.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2008.
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, 1992–2007
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	408,565	58,590	14.3	215,482	33,233	15.4	193,083	25,357	13.1
2001	435,208	58,417	13.4	222,328	32,590	14.7	212,880	25,827	12.1
2002	502,663	60,482	12.0	250,205	32,881	13.1	252,458	27,601	10.9
2003	542,627	60,471	11.1	258,479	31,725	12.3	284,148	28,746	10.1
2004	555,232	57,711	10.4	253,901	29,625	11.7	301,331	28,086	9.3
2005	508,976	50,961	10.0	228,569	26,389	11.5	280,407	24,572	8.8
2006	507,294	50,367	9.9	223,285	26,329	11.8	284,009	24,038	8.5
2007	470,616	50,010	10.6	203,657	26,828	13.2	266,959	23,182	8.7
	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	385,426	57,808	15.0	203,713	33,192	16.3	181,713	24,616	13.5
2000	397,069	55,762	14.0	209,184	31,946	15.3	187,885	23,816	12.7
2001	424,031	55,822	13.2	216,229	31,420	14.5	207,802	24,402	11.7
2002	490,217	57,961	11.8	243,638	31,809	13.1	246,579	26,152	10.6
2003	529,468	57,885	10.9	252,369	30,711	12.2	277,099	27,174	9.8
2004	541,872	55,259	10.2	248,232	28,707	11.6	293,640	26,552	9.0
2005	496,180	48,638	9.8	223,075	25,537	11.4	273,105	23,101	8.5
2006	494,338	48,497	9.8	218,158	25,621	11.7	276,180	22,876	8.3
2007	458,277	48,316	10.5	199,004	26,169	13.1	259,273	22,147	8.5
	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	6,434	1,371	21.3	3,440	583	16.9	2,994	788	26.3
2005	6,065	1,209	19.9	3,306	522	15.8	2,759	687	24.9
2006	5,766	913	15.8	2,944	411	14.0	2,822	502	17.8
2007	4,970	787	15.8	2,408	366	15.2	2,562	421	16.4
	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	6,498	1,143	17.6	2,276	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	6,731	1,114	16.6	2,188	330	15.1	4,543	784	17.3
2006	7,190	957	13.3	2,183	297	13.6	5,007	660	13.2
2007	7,369	907	12.3	2,245	293	13.1	5,124	614	12.0
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2008.
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, 1992–2007
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	189,246	71.7	144,168	112,122	77.8	119,644	77,124	64.5
2000	287,898	204,429	71.0	155,781	120,124	77.1	132,117	84,305	63.8
2001	309,920	220,747	71.2	162,661	126,719	77.9	147,259	94,028	63.9
2002	363,866	258,464	71.0	186,997	146,434	78.3	176,869	112,030	63.3
2003	392,496	278,767	71.0	193,924	152,873	78.8	198,572	125,894	63.4
2004	395,405	287,275	72.7	188,734	153,357	81.3	206,671	133,918	64.8
2005	332,110	248,541	74.8	156,973	129,913	82.8	175,137	118,628	67.7
2006	193,617	146,497	75.7	93,405	77,951	83.5	100,212	68,546	68.4
2007	46,513	37,910	81.5	25,140	22,268	88.6	21,373	15,642	73.2
	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	259,678	186,438	71.8	141,045	109,930	77.9	118,633	76,508	64.5
2000	283,501	201,470	71.1	152,469	117,815	77.3	131,032	83,655	63.8
2001	305,589	217,804	71.3	159,371	124,408	78.1	146,218	93,396	63.9
2002	358,868	255,051	71.1	183,246	143,754	78.4	175,622	111,297	63.4
2003	387,487	275,422	71.1	190,550	150,468	79.0	196,937	124,954	63.4
2004	390,522	284,014	72.7	185,672	151,122	81.4	204,850	132,892	64.9
2005	327,623	245,363	74.9	154,133	127,740	82.9	173,490	117,623	67.8
2006	190,889	144,576	75.7	91,738	76,699	83.6	99,151	67,877	68.5
2007	45,786	37,366	81.6	24,672	21,893	88.7	21,114	15,473	73.3
	Widow(er)s
1999	2,978	2,232	74.9	2,288	1,747	76.4	690	485	70.3
2000	3,105	2,337	75.3	2,386	1,829	76.7	719	508	70.7
2001	2,971	2,287	77.0	2,339	1,823	77.9	632	464	73.4
2002	3,324	2,572	77.4	2,610	2,058	78.9	714	514	72.0
2003	3,302	2,533	76.7	2,341	1,850	79.0	961	683	71.1
2004	3,092	2,436	78.8	2,107	1,707	81.0	985	729	74.0
2005	2,909	2,343	80.5	1,971	1,650	83.7	938	693	73.9
2006	1,786	1,458	81.6	1,165	982	84.3	621	476	76.7
2007	494	428	86.6	345	306	88.7	149	122	81.9
	Adult children
1999	1,156	576	49.8	835	445	53.3	321	131	40.8
2000	1,292	622	48.1	926	480	51.8	366	142	38.8
2001	1,360	656	48.2	951	488	51.3	409	168	41.1
2002	1,674	841	50.2	1,141	622	54.5	533	219	41.1
2003	1,707	812	47.6	1,033	555	53.7	674	257	38.1
2004	1,791	825	46.1	955	528	55.3	836	297	35.5
2005	1,578	835	52.9	869	523	60.2	709	312	44.0
2006	942	463	49.2	502	270	53.8	440	193	43.9
2007	233	116	49.8	123	69	56.1	110	47	42.7
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through August 2008.
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, 1992–2007
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	708,530	100.0	33.0	5.9	27.0	34.1
2000	763,027	100.0	31.3	6.2	29.3	33.2
2001	837,336	100.0	30.1	6.1	30.2	33.6
2002	893,766	100.0	28.7	5.4	30.3	35.7
2003	923,032	100.0	27.3	5.1	31.3	36.3
2004	947,258	100.0	26.8	5.0	32.0	36.3
2005	871,979	100.0	27.6	4.8	33.3	34.2
2006	751,390	100.0	31.1	5.3	37.4	26.1
2007	648,378	100.0	35.9	6.2	43.9	14.0
	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	639,795	100.0	33.6	6.3	28.3	31.8
2000	691,966	100.0	31.8	6.6	30.8	30.8
2001	766,654	100.0	30.6	6.4	31.5	31.5
2002	819,623	100.0	29.1	5.6	31.6	33.6
2003	848,060	100.0	27.7	5.3	32.7	34.3
2004	870,433	100.0	27.1	5.2	33.4	34.2
2005	794,234	100.0	28.2	5.1	35.1	31.6
2006	678,083	100.0	32.0	5.6	39.8	22.5
2007	578,092	100.0	37.2	6.7	47.2	8.9
	Widow(er)s
1999	29,111	100.0	14.9	2.5	24.6	58.0
2000	29,663	100.0	12.8	2.5	26.3	58.4
2001	30,109	100.0	12.3	2.6	27.0	58.1
2002	30,576	100.0	11.5	2.1	26.6	59.9
2003	29,986	100.0	10.8	2.2	26.2	60.7
2004	30,417	100.0	10.2	1.9	26.4	61.4
2005	29,744	100.0	9.9	1.7	26.0	62.4
2006	27,239	100.0	10.3	1.6	26.0	62.1
2007	24,696	100.0	10.6	1.8	27.9	59.7
	Adult children
1999	39,624	100.0	35.9	3.2	7.4	53.5
2000	41,398	100.0	35.0	3.1	7.3	54.7
2001	40,573	100.0	33.0	3.0	8.0	56.0
2002	43,567	100.0	31.7	2.9	7.6	57.7
2003	44,986	100.0	31.0	2.7	8.2	58.1
2004	46,408	100.0	30.4	2.8	8.6	58.2
2005	48,001	100.0	28.9	2.5	8.4	60.1
2006	46,068	100.0	30.2	2.7	9.3	57.8
2007	45,590	100.0	32.8	3.0	10.0	54.2
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for all levels are current through August 2008.
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, 1992–2007
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	450,288	100.0	10.2	17.8	28.3	30.9	12.8
2000	463,282	100.0	10.0	17.2	28.3	30.5	14.0
2001	501,475	100.0	9.2	16.7	28.1	31.2	14.8
2002	586,044	100.0	8.5	17.1	28.3	31.4	14.8
2003	636,778	100.0	7.5	17.6	28.3	31.8	14.8
2004	681,272	100.0	6.8	18.4	27.6	31.6	15.7
2005	637,116	100.0	6.6	19.1	26.6	31.2	16.5
2006	607,368	100.0	6.5	19.7	26.0	30.5	17.3
2007	599,344	100.0	6.6	19.5	26.4	30.4	17.1
	Workers
1992	487,164	100.0	10.7	22.9	28.4	29.6	8.4
1993	546,532	100.0	10.4	22.7	27.6	29.8	9.5
1994	578,664	100.0	10.2	21.5	25.9	28.8	13.6
1995	547,145	100.0	10.6	20.8	25.4	29.4	13.8
1996	542,493	100.0	10.2	19.6	24.7	30.6	14.8
1997	453,676	100.0	10.6	18.5	25.7	30.5	14.6
1998	426,158	100.0	10.8	18.3	27.8	30.8	12.3
1999	423,730	100.0	10.6	17.4	29.3	30.1	12.5
2000	437,335	100.0	10.4	16.7	29.3	29.8	13.7
2001	475,620	100.0	9.5	16.3	29.0	30.5	14.6
2002	556,356	100.0	8.8	16.8	29.2	30.7	14.6
2003	603,873	100.0	7.7	17.3	29.3	31.1	14.6
2004	645,569	100.0	7.1	18.1	28.6	30.8	15.4
2005	601,709	100.0	6.8	18.9	27.6	30.4	16.3
2006	566,655	100.0	6.8	19.4	27.3	29.6	17.0
2007	555,281	100.0	7.0	19.1	27.9	29.3	16.7
	Widow(er)s
1999	9,734	100.0	5.6	29.1	31.8	22.7	10.8
2000	9,046	100.0	5.3	28.9	31.4	22.4	12.0
2001	8,735	100.0	4.6	27.6	31.2	22.9	13.6
2002	9,135	100.0	4.7	26.2	32.4	23.7	13.0
2003	9,692	100.0	4.2	26.5	32.7	23.4	13.3
2004	10,044	100.0	3.5	26.5	32.2	23.4	14.4
2005	9,668	100.0	3.5	26.6	32.0	23.1	14.7
2006	10,394	100.0	3.8	25.1	31.6	24.1	15.4
2007	10,052	100.0	3.9	25.0	32.1	24.3	14.7
	Adult children
1999	16,824	100.0	3.1	22.7	0.7	53.3	20.2
2000	16,901	100.0	2.9	22.9	0.7	51.9	21.6
2001	17,120	100.0	2.5	21.3	0.9	52.9	22.3
2002	20,553	100.0	2.3	21.6	0.8	53.5	21.7
2003	23,213	100.0	2.0	21.8	0.7	53.6	21.9
2004	25,659	100.0	1.9	22.0	0.5	52.5	23.0
2005	25,739	100.0	1.8	21.2	0.4	53.0	23.6
2006	30,319	100.0	1.8	23.3	0.4	50.6	23.9
2007	34,011	100.0	1.7	23.4	0.3	50.5	24.1
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for all levels are current through August 2008.
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.