Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2013

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 60 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 61–63 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 64 and 65). 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, 2003–2012

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging 38 percent for claims filed from 2003 through 2012. The percentage of applicants awarded benefits at the initial claims level averaged 24 percent over the same period and ranged from a high of 28 percent to a low of 21 percent. The percentage of applicants awarded at the reconsideration and hearing levels are averaging 2 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Denied disability claims have averaged 59 percent.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 2003–2012 (percent)
Year	Initial awards	Reconsideration awards	Hearings and Appeals Council awards	Pending final decision	Medical denials	Technical denials
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	2.3	13.3	0.0	30.2	30.2
2007	24.1	2.6	12.8	0.1	28.8	31.5
2008	24.8	2.6	12.1	0.3	27.7	32.6
2009	24.7	2.4	11.4	0.6	28.1	32.8
2010	22.8	2.2	10.6	1.9	27.3	35.2
2011	21.8	2.3	8.2	6.4	25.5	35.8
2012	21.3	1.7	1.7	16.7	22.2	36.4

SOURCE: Tables 60–63.

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 60. Outcomes at all adjudicative levels, by year of application, 1992–2012
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	632,284	4,485	928,747	2,073	47.8	59.5
2004	2,262,119	0	616,830	680,941	5,680	957,023	1,645	42.3	58.3
2005	2,087,733	0	529,704	645,884	7,023	903,132	1,990	43.3	58.2
2006	2,164,393	934	612,227	657,574	7,341	884,369	1,948	40.9	57.2
2007	2,216,565	2,793	652,797	643,682	7,986	907,465	1,842	41.0	58.3
2008	2,358,630	6,227	718,009	658,497	9,085	965,001	1,811	41.0	59.2
2009	2,753,012	14,723	845,892	781,826	10,750	1,097,953	1,868	40.1	58.2
2010	2,981,613	53,508	979,242	822,375	19,289	1,105,097	2,102	37.7	56.9
2011	2,944,980	182,211	981,954	762,563	21,778	994,344	2,130	36.0	56.0
2012	2,847,503	463,463	963,158	646,291	23,484	749,005	2,102	31.4	52.9
	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	96,718	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	599,558	4,428	853,832	2,002	46.6	58.7
2004	2,145,629	0	612,791	645,439	5,627	880,178	1,594	41.0	57.6
2005	1,970,277	0	525,788	610,616	6,929	825,028	1,916	41.9	57.3
2006	2,040,681	914	607,447	617,065	7,233	806,134	1,888	39.5	56.5
2007	2,083,897	2,740	647,544	600,466	7,871	823,501	1,775	39.6	57.6
2008	2,217,127	6,090	712,408	614,276	8,949	873,660	1,744	39.5	58.5
2009	2,595,028	14,373	839,890	729,609	10,601	998,764	1,791	38.7	57.5
2010	2,809,477	52,111	968,744	765,994	18,680	1,001,916	2,032	36.3	56.2
2011	2,777,264	177,153	971,146	709,147	21,261	896,493	2,064	34.5	55.2
2012	2,690,831	449,746	953,898	598,215	22,822	664,117	2,033	29.6	51.8
	Widow(er)s
1999	40,053	0	1,173	9,718	17	29,108	37	72.7	75.0
2000	39,990	0	1,258	9,013	11	29,679	29	74.2	76.8
2001	40,227	0	1,344	8,738	13	30,113	19	74.9	77.5
2002	41,065	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	0	1,895	9,554	27	29,909	24	72.2	75.8
2006	41,468	8	2,194	10,022	38	29,183	23	70.4	74.4
2007	40,781	20	2,212	9,098	28	29,396	27	72.1	76.4
2008	42,140	45	2,329	8,668	33	31,044	21	73.7	78.2
2009	44,059	90	2,552	8,956	43	32,398	20	73.7	78.3
2010	47,583	345	3,553	9,516	83	34,061	25	72.1	78.1
2011	46,396	1,396	3,503	9,206	79	32,178	34	71.5	77.7
2012	45,112	4,213	3,336	8,619	87	28,832	25	70.5	76.9
	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	0	2,021	25,714	67	48,195	50	63.4	65.2
2006	82,244	12	2,586	30,487	70	49,052	37	59.7	61.7
2007	91,887	33	3,041	34,118	87	54,568	40	59.4	61.5
2008	99,363	92	3,272	35,553	103	60,297	46	60.7	62.9
2009	113,925	260	3,450	43,261	106	66,791	57	58.8	60.7
2010	124,553	1,052	6,945	46,865	526	69,120	45	56.0	59.4
2011	121,320	3,662	7,305	44,210	438	65,673	32	55.8	59.6
2012	111,560	9,504	5,924	39,457	575	56,056	44	54.9	58.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2013. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2013.
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 61. Medical decisions at the initial adjudicative level, by year of application and program, 1992–2012
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	1,645,319	602,124	36.6	813,005	387,971	47.7	832,314	214,153	25.7
2005	1,558,077	573,335	36.8	762,442	369,349	48.4	795,635	203,986	25.6
2006	1,552,196	560,017	36.1	752,187	362,042	48.1	800,009	197,975	24.7
2007	1,563,812	580,915	37.1	756,230	376,131	49.7	807,582	204,784	25.4
2008	1,640,634	633,732	38.6	782,613	407,875	52.1	858,021	225,857	26.3
2009	1,907,090	732,859	38.4	921,591	479,943	52.1	985,499	252,916	25.7
2010	2,002,110	737,758	36.8	990,086	495,409	50.0	1,012,024	242,349	23.9
2011	1,961,806	697,073	35.5	980,606	473,706	48.3	981,200	223,367	22.8
2012	1,878,035	657,850	35.0	953,759	449,071	47.1	924,276	208,779	22.6
	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	1,532,868	531,109	34.6	737,029	328,862	44.6	795,839	202,247	25.4
2005	1,444,537	501,089	34.7	685,223	308,900	45.1	759,314	192,189	25.3
2006	1,433,264	487,670	34.0	674,503	301,953	44.8	758,761	185,717	24.5
2007	1,436,401	504,097	35.1	675,132	313,216	46.4	761,269	190,881	25.1
2008	1,504,736	551,194	36.6	696,996	340,000	48.8	807,740	211,194	26.1
2009	1,755,113	643,307	36.7	830,027	406,985	49.0	925,086	236,322	25.5
2010	1,840,488	643,893	35.0	893,631	418,315	46.8	946,857	225,578	23.8
2011	1,804,981	606,973	33.6	886,357	398,949	45.0	918,624	208,024	22.6
2012	1,730,885	575,798	33.3	866,713	381,540	44.0	864,172	194,258	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	41,506	27,778	66.9	28,927	22,782	78.8	12,579	4,996	39.7
2010	44,030	29,467	66.9	30,589	24,183	79.1	13,441	5,284	39.3
2011	42,886	28,281	65.9	29,790	23,422	78.6	13,096	4,859	37.1
2012	41,739	27,366	65.6	28,819	22,684	78.7	12,920	4,682	36.2
	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	110,471	61,774	55.9	62,637	50,176	80.1	47,834	11,598	24.2
2010	117,592	64,398	54.8	65,866	52,911	80.3	51,726	11,487	22.2
2011	113,939	61,819	54.3	64,459	51,335	79.6	49,480	10,484	21.2
2012	105,411	54,686	51.9	58,227	44,847	77.0	47,184	9,839	20.9
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2013.
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 62. Medical decisions at the reconsideration level, by year of application and program, 1992–2012
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	57,868	10.7	258,354	30,344	11.7	284,632	27,524	9.7
2004	558,584	56,534	10.1	255,236	28,940	11.3	303,348	27,594	9.1
2005	514,242	51,009	9.9	231,211	26,331	11.4	283,031	24,678	8.7
2006	514,376	50,365	9.8	227,858	25,854	11.3	286,518	24,511	8.6
2007	519,181	56,453	10.9	224,378	29,597	13.2	294,803	26,856	9.1
2008	546,367	58,969	10.8	222,839	29,827	13.4	323,528	29,142	9.0
2009	644,168	63,952	9.9	264,438	33,131	12.5	379,730	30,821	8.1
2010	705,997	64,618	9.2	299,749	34,886	11.6	406,248	29,732	7.3
2011	718,043	66,033	9.2	310,138	36,647	11.8	407,905	29,386	7.2
2012	591,510	47,219	8.0	259,796	26,770	10.3	331,714	20,449	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	55,342	10.4	252,226	29,348	11.6	277,549	25,994	9.4
2004	545,134	54,089	9.9	249,523	28,031	11.2	295,611	26,058	8.8
2005	501,343	48,640	9.7	225,669	25,472	11.3	275,674	23,168	8.4
2006	500,850	47,940	9.6	222,404	25,072	11.3	278,446	22,868	8.2
2007	503,405	53,973	10.7	218,611	28,748	13.2	284,794	25,225	8.9
2008	527,721	56,615	10.7	216,916	28,998	13.4	310,805	27,617	8.9
2009	621,628	61,239	9.9	257,971	32,251	12.5	363,657	28,988	8.0
2010	681,711	61,885	9.1	293,126	33,989	11.6	388,585	27,896	7.2
2011	694,159	63,357	9.1	303,477	35,728	11.8	390,682	27,629	7.1
2012	572,114	45,446	7.9	254,474	26,152	10.3	317,640	19,294	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	1,096	18.4	2,887	451	15.6	3,061	645	21.1
2008	6,347	905	14.3	2,858	387	13.5	3,489	518	14.8
2009	6,987	1,058	15.1	3,044	440	14.5	3,943	618	15.7
2010	7,359	1,057	14.4	3,073	460	15.0	4,286	597	13.9
2011	7,571	1,108	14.6	3,128	493	15.8	4,443	615	13.8
2012	6,267	812	13.0	2,525	340	13.5	3,742	472	12.6
	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	1,449	11.8	3,065	442	14.4	9,234	1,007	10.9
2009	15,553	1,655	10.6	3,423	440	12.9	12,130	1,215	10.0
2010	16,927	1,676	9.9	3,550	437	12.3	13,377	1,239	9.3
2011	16,313	1,568	9.6	3,533	426	12.1	12,780	1,142	8.9
2012	13,129	961	7.3	2,797	278	9.9	10,332	683	6.6
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2013.
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. Medical decisions at the hearing level or above, by year of application and program, 1992–2012
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	401,747	289,194	72.0	197,765	157,566	79.7	203,982	131,628	64.5
2004	415,320	300,010	72.2	196,697	158,770	80.7	218,623	141,240	64.6
2005	384,317	280,778	73.1	178,286	144,754	81.2	206,031	136,024	66.0
2006	386,045	275,935	71.5	175,952	141,099	80.2	210,093	134,836	64.2
2007	384,587	271,939	70.7	168,845	134,958	79.9	215,742	136,981	63.5
2008	398,867	274,111	68.7	165,208	130,587	79.0	233,659	143,524	61.4
2009	467,331	303,010	64.8	195,117	147,799	75.7	272,214	155,211	57.0
2010	481,960	304,823	63.2	210,529	156,251	74.2	271,431	148,572	54.7
2011	366,415	233,368	63.7	166,921	124,395	74.5	199,494	108,973	54.6
2012	69,643	46,038	66.1	36,455	27,751	76.1	33,188	18,287	55.1
	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	396,352	285,621	72.1	194,232	155,060	79.8	202,120	130,561	64.6
2004	410,141	296,574	72.3	193,463	156,424	80.9	216,678	140,150	64.7
2005	379,217	277,215	73.1	175,061	142,323	81.3	204,156	134,892	66.1
2006	380,810	272,412	71.5	172,717	138,786	80.4	208,093	133,626	64.2
2007	376,779	267,206	70.9	165,447	132,584	80.1	211,332	134,622	63.7
2008	387,730	267,595	69.0	161,427	127,858	79.2	226,303	139,737	61.7
2009	454,276	296,009	65.2	191,164	145,045	75.9	263,112	150,964	57.4
2010	468,944	298,170	63.6	206,619	153,567	74.3	262,325	144,603	55.1
2011	356,726	228,227	64.0	163,850	122,275	74.6	192,876	105,952	54.9
2012	67,643	44,906	66.4	35,674	27,202	76.3	31,969	17,704	55.4
	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	3,187	2,559	80.3	2,166	1,796	82.9	1,021	763	74.7
2006	3,165	2,556	80.8	2,083	1,718	82.5	1,082	838	77.4
2007	3,622	2,856	78.9	1,949	1,594	81.8	1,673	1,262	75.4
2008	4,360	3,432	78.7	2,034	1,697	83.4	2,326	1,735	74.6
2009	4,686	3,582	76.4	2,100	1,728	82.3	2,586	1,854	71.7
2010	4,820	3,562	73.9	2,061	1,654	80.3	2,759	1,908	69.2
2011	3,778	2,823	74.7	1,619	1,282	79.2	2,159	1,541	71.4
2012	872	679	77.9	434	364	83.9	438	315	71.9
	Adult children
1999	1,181	587	49.7	851	459	53.9	330	128	38.8
2000	1,308	641	49.0	938	494	52.7	370	147	39.7
2001	1,421	684	48.1	984	500	50.8	437	184	42.1
2002	1,778	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	1,913	1,004	52.5	1,059	635	60.0	854	369	43.2
2006	2,070	967	46.7	1,152	595	51.6	918	372	40.5
2007	4,186	1,877	44.8	1,449	780	53.8	2,737	1,097	40.1
2008	6,777	3,084	45.5	1,747	1,032	59.1	5,030	2,052	40.8
2009	8,369	3,419	40.9	1,853	1,026	55.4	6,516	2,393	36.7
2010	8,196	3,091	37.7	1,849	1,030	55.7	6,347	2,061	32.5
2011	5,911	2,318	39.2	1,452	838	57.7	4,459	1,480	33.2
2012	1,128	453	40.2	347	185	53.3	781	268	34.3
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through July 2013.
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 64. Number and percentage distribution of final medical allowances, by year of application and reason for allowance, 1992–2012
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	928,747	100.0	27.1	5.1	31.1	36.7
2004	957,023	100.0	26.5	5.0	31.6	36.9
2005	903,132	100.0	26.6	4.7	32.2	36.5
2006	884,369	100.0	26.6	4.6	32.1	36.8
2007	907,465	100.0	26.3	4.6	32.9	36.2
2008	965,001	100.0	25.6	5.2	34.3	34.9
2009	1,097,953	100.0	24.5	5.3	35.9	34.3
2010	1,105,097	100.0	23.4	5.2	36.7	34.7
2011	994,344	100.0	24.1	5.4	40.5	30.0
2012	749,005	100.0	29.6	6.6	50.2	13.6
	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	853,832	100.0	27.5	5.3	32.5	34.8
2004	880,178	100.0	26.8	5.2	33.0	35.0
2005	825,028	100.0	27.1	4.9	33.8	34.2
2006	806,134	100.0	27.0	4.8	33.8	34.4
2007	823,501	100.0	26.7	4.9	34.8	33.6
2008	873,660	100.0	26.1	5.5	36.4	31.9
2009	998,764	100.0	25.0	5.6	38.0	31.4
2010	1,001,916	100.0	23.9	5.5	39.1	31.5
2011	896,493	100.0	24.8	5.8	43.3	26.1
2012	664,117	100.0	30.9	7.1	54.7	7.2
	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	29,183	100.0	9.6	1.5	24.4	64.4
2007	29,396	100.0	9.2	1.6	24.4	64.8
2008	31,044	100.0	8.7	1.7	24.9	64.6
2009	32,398	100.0	8.2	1.9	26.1	63.8
2010	34,061	100.0	7.8	1.9	25.4	64.9
2011	32,178	100.0	8.1	1.7	26.2	64.0
2012	28,832	100.0	8.0	1.8	27.9	62.3
	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	48,195	100.0	28.8	2.5	8.4	60.3
2006	49,052	100.0	28.6	2.6	8.9	59.9
2007	54,568	100.0	28.4	2.6	9.1	59.9
2008	60,297	100.0	26.7	2.6	8.6	62.1
2009	66,791	100.0	24.9	2.5	8.8	63.8
2010	69,120	100.0	23.3	2.4	8.4	65.9
2011	65,673	100.0	22.8	2.4	8.2	66.6
2012	56,056	100.0	25.4	2.7	8.3	63.6
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2013. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2013.
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 65. Number and percentage distribution of final medical denials, by year of application and reason for denial, 1992–2012
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	636,769	100.0	7.5	17.7	28.2	31.8	14.9
2004	686,621	100.0	6.8	18.4	27.6	31.6	15.6
2005	652,907	100.0	6.5	19.1	26.7	31.5	16.2
2006	664,915	100.0	6.2	19.7	26.3	31.5	16.3
2007	651,668	100.0	6.3	20.3	26.3	31.0	16.0
2008	667,582	100.0	5.8	21.4	25.9	31.3	15.5
2009	792,576	100.0	4.7	22.5	25.4	32.2	15.2
2010	841,664	100.0	4.2	23.6	24.5	31.8	15.9
2011	784,341	100.0	4.2	24.4	20.7	33.4	17.3
2012	669,775	100.0	4.6	25.2	16.5	37.3	16.4
	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	603,986	100.0	7.7	17.4	29.2	31.0	14.6
2004	651,066	100.0	7.0	18.1	28.6	30.9	15.4
2005	617,545	100.0	6.7	18.9	27.7	30.7	15.9
2006	624,298	100.0	6.5	19.5	27.4	30.7	15.9
2007	608,337	100.0	6.6	20.0	27.7	30.1	15.5
2008	623,225	100.0	6.1	21.2	27.4	30.3	15.1
2009	740,210	100.0	4.9	22.4	26.8	31.1	14.8
2010	784,674	100.0	4.4	23.5	25.9	30.6	15.6
2011	730,408	100.0	4.4	24.3	21.8	32.4	17.1
2012	621,037	100.0	4.8	25.0	17.5	36.6	16.1
	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	9,581	100.0	3.6	26.2	32.3	23.3	14.6
2006	10,060	100.0	3.8	25.4	31.6	23.6	15.6
2007	9,126	100.0	3.7	27.1	31.3	22.0	15.8
2008	8,701	100.0	3.4	27.7	30.9	21.9	16.1
2009	8,999	100.0	2.8	28.8	30.3	22.2	15.9
2010	9,599	100.0	2.7	29.4	27.8	23.9	16.1
2011	9,285	100.0	3.0	28.5	27.2	24.7	16.6
2012	8,706	100.0	2.7	28.5	23.6	28.4	16.8
	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	25,781	100.0	1.8	21.1	0.4	53.0	23.6
2006	30,557	100.0	1.8	23.5	0.4	50.6	23.8
2007	34,205	100.0	1.6	23.9	0.3	50.0	24.1
2008	35,656	100.0	1.5	24.7	0.2	51.0	22.5
2009	43,367	100.0	1.2	23.4	0.1	53.5	21.8
2010	47,391	100.0	1.2	24.7	0.1	52.9	21.1
2011	44,648	100.0	1.0	26.2	0.0	52.0	20.7
2012	40,032	100.0	1.0	27.6	0.0	50.2	21.1
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2013. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2013.
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.