Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2016

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, 2006–2015

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging 34 percent for claims filed from 2006 through 2015. The percentage of applicants awarded benefits at the initial claims level averaged 23 percent over the same period and ranged from a high of 25 percent to a low of 20 percent. The percentage of applicants awarded at the reconsideration and hearing levels are averaging 2 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Denied disability claims have averaged 62 percent.

Show as table

Table equivalent for Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 2006–2015 (percent)
Year	Initial awards	Reconsideration awards	Hearings and Appeals Council awards	Pending final decision	Medical denials	Technical denials
2006	23.9	2.4	13.5	0.0	30.1	30.2
2007	24.2	2.6	13.0	0.0	28.7	31.5
2008	24.8	2.6	12.2	0.0	27.8	32.6
2009	24.8	2.4	11.6	0.2	28.3	32.8
2010	22.9	2.2	11.1	0.2	28.5	35.2
2011	21.9	2.2	10.7	0.4	29.1	35.7
2012	21.2	2.2	9.8	0.9	28.6	37.3
2013	20.9	2.2	8.4	4.3	26.6	37.6
2014	20.5	2.2	3.1	13.2	23.0	37.9
2015	20.0	1.8	0.3	16.3	22.7	39.1

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, 1992–2015
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	615,672	677,811	5,634	961,376	1,626	42.5	58.5
2005	2,087,733	0	528,760	642,170	6,964	907,877	1,962	43.5	58.4
2006	2,164,394	0	611,199	653,256	7,270	890,752	1,917	41.2	57.5
2007	2,216,564	0	651,759	641,906	7,914	913,167	1,818	41.2	58.5
2008	2,358,629	0	717,160	661,044	9,024	969,623	1,778	41.1	59.2
2009	2,753,012	4,100	845,280	786,108	10,691	1,104,985	1,848	40.2	58.2
2010	2,981,613	5,980	978,727	857,269	19,112	1,118,449	2,076	37.6	56.2
2011	2,952,087	10,416	982,064	866,486	20,813	1,070,241	2,067	36.4	54.8
2012	2,955,922	26,864	1,024,683	849,946	23,956	1,028,187	2,286	35.1	54.2
2013	2,790,682	117,452	970,984	749,185	25,392	925,409	2,260	34.6	54.6
2014	2,682,401	342,623	938,339	625,139	29,154	744,849	2,297	31.8	53.4
2015	2,505,290	393,292	901,422	573,186	28,138	607,175	2,077	28.7	50.4
	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	611,647	643,040	5,582	883,784	1,576	41.2	57.8
2005	1,970,277	0	524,858	607,568	6,874	829,087	1,890	42.1	57.6
2006	2,040,682	0	606,435	613,407	7,164	811,818	1,858	39.8	56.8
2007	2,083,896	0	646,517	599,091	7,799	828,737	1,752	39.8	57.8
2008	2,217,126	0	711,562	616,976	8,892	877,985	1,711	39.6	58.5
2009	2,595,028	3,990	839,291	733,978	10,543	1,005,453	1,773	38.8	57.6
2010	2,809,477	5,843	968,243	800,122	18,510	1,014,751	2,008	36.2	55.5
2011	2,780,977	10,192	971,197	809,848	20,319	967,420	2,001	34.9	53.9
2012	2,776,214	26,170	1,009,264	793,956	22,860	921,800	2,164	33.5	53.1
2013	2,620,315	113,767	958,159	698,213	24,412	823,601	2,163	32.9	53.4
2014	2,522,765	332,985	926,361	581,422	28,049	651,729	2,219	29.8	51.9
2015	2,352,917	382,404	890,190	533,408	27,162	517,749	2,004	26.3	48.2
	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	2,069	9,554	22	30,780	24	72.5	76.3
2005	41,409	0	1,892	9,253	26	30,215	23	73.0	76.6
2006	41,468	0	2,190	9,774	38	29,443	23	71.0	75.1
2007	40,781	0	2,211	8,976	28	29,539	27	72.4	76.7
2008	42,140	0	2,329	8,625	31	31,134	21	73.9	78.3
2009	44,059	27	2,551	8,925	43	32,493	20	73.8	78.4
2010	47,583	49	3,543	9,672	83	34,213	23	72.0	77.9
2011	47,011	66	3,500	9,785	74	33,552	34	71.5	77.4
2012	51,351	219	5,851	9,790	242	35,196	53	68.8	77.9
2013	49,596	1,188	5,110	9,332	265	33,658	43	69.5	77.9
2014	47,324	3,654	4,601	8,201	289	30,543	36	69.9	78.3
2015	43,699	3,975	4,351	7,419	287	27,637	30	69.6	78.3
	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	1,956	25,217	30	46,812	26	63.2	65.0
2005	76,047	0	2,010	25,349	64	48,575	49	63.9	65.7
2006	82,244	0	2,574	30,075	68	49,491	36	60.2	62.2
2007	91,887	0	3,031	33,839	87	54,891	39	59.7	61.8
2008	99,363	0	3,269	35,443	101	60,504	46	60.9	63.0
2009	113,925	83	3,438	43,205	105	67,039	55	58.9	60.8
2010	124,553	88	6,941	47,475	519	69,485	45	55.8	59.2
2011	124,099	158	7,367	46,853	420	69,269	32	55.9	59.5
2012	128,357	475	9,568	46,200	854	71,191	69	55.7	60.3
2013	120,771	2,497	7,715	41,640	715	68,150	54	57.6	61.7
2014	112,312	5,984	7,377	35,516	816	62,577	42	58.9	63.3
2015	108,674	6,913	6,881	32,359	689	61,789	43	60.7	65.2
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2016. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2016.
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, 1992–2015
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	1,646,469	604,176	36.7	814,157	389,190	47.8	832,312	214,986	25.8
2005	1,559,003	575,310	36.9	763,377	370,449	48.5	795,626	204,861	25.7
2006	1,553,228	562,208	36.2	753,222	363,226	48.2	800,006	198,982	24.9
2007	1,564,862	583,040	37.3	757,288	377,343	49.8	807,574	205,697	25.5
2008	1,641,512	635,358	38.7	783,494	408,863	52.2	858,018	226,495	26.4
2009	1,907,736	734,238	38.5	922,244	480,777	52.1	985,492	253,461	25.7
2010	2,002,882	738,887	36.9	990,862	496,108	50.1	1,012,020	242,779	24.0
2011	1,970,021	703,050	35.7	987,837	478,570	48.4	982,184	224,480	22.9
2012	1,931,158	688,733	35.7	989,324	474,565	48.0	941,834	214,168	22.7
2013	1,818,951	642,538	35.3	965,788	449,654	46.6	853,163	192,884	22.6
2014	1,742,336	608,868	34.9	974,199	436,127	44.8	768,137	172,741	22.5
2015	1,599,070	559,334	35.0	914,626	406,063	44.4	684,444	153,271	22.4
	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	1,041,383	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	1,534,004	532,860	34.7	738,167	329,980	44.7	795,837	202,880	25.5
2005	1,445,449	502,762	34.8	686,143	309,900	45.2	759,306	192,862	25.4
2006	1,434,280	489,529	34.1	675,523	303,051	44.9	758,757	186,478	24.6
2007	1,437,434	505,931	35.2	676,173	314,346	46.5	761,261	191,585	25.2
2008	1,505,604	552,653	36.7	697,867	340,930	48.9	807,737	211,723	26.2
2009	1,755,742	644,547	36.7	830,661	407,765	49.1	925,081	236,782	25.6
2010	1,841,231	644,889	35.0	894,378	418,950	46.8	946,853	225,939	23.9
2011	1,809,783	610,078	33.7	890,550	401,135	45.0	919,233	208,943	22.7
2012	1,766,873	592,101	33.5	886,990	393,130	44.3	879,883	198,971	22.6
2013	1,661,436	548,791	33.0	866,527	370,232	42.7	794,909	178,559	22.5
2014	1,594,791	519,884	32.6	879,167	360,404	41.0	715,624	159,480	22.3
2015	1,458,161	471,843	32.4	821,443	330,872	40.3	636,718	140,971	22.1
	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	40,380	26,666	66.0	29,578	22,252	75.2	10,802	4,414	40.9
2005	39,517	26,265	66.5	29,201	22,023	75.4	10,316	4,242	41.1
2006	39,278	25,584	65.1	28,454	21,399	75.2	10,824	4,185	38.7
2007	38,570	25,546	66.2	27,586	21,181	76.8	10,984	4,365	39.7
2008	39,811	26,775	67.3	28,194	22,185	78.7	11,617	4,590	39.5
2009	41,508	27,811	67.0	28,929	22,796	78.8	12,579	5,015	39.9
2010	44,040	29,500	67.0	30,599	24,202	79.1	13,441	5,298	39.4
2011	43,511	28,694	65.9	30,383	23,797	78.3	13,128	4,897	37.3
2012	45,497	30,467	67.0	32,398	25,658	79.2	13,099	4,809	36.7
2013	44,479	29,512	66.4	31,749	24,997	78.7	12,730	4,515	35.5
2014	42,700	28,339	66.4	30,695	24,164	78.7	12,005	4,175	34.8
2015	39,298	26,649	67.8	28,547	22,860	80.1	10,751	3,789	35.2
	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	72,085	44,650	61.9	46,412	36,958	79.6	25,673	7,692	30.0
2005	74,037	46,283	62.5	48,033	38,526	80.2	26,004	7,757	29.8
2006	79,670	47,095	59.1	49,245	38,776	78.7	30,425	8,319	27.3
2007	88,858	51,563	58.0	53,529	41,816	78.1	35,329	9,747	27.6
2008	96,097	55,930	58.2	57,433	45,748	79.7	38,664	10,182	26.3
2009	110,486	61,880	56.0	62,654	50,216	80.1	47,832	11,664	24.4
2010	117,611	64,498	54.8	65,885	52,956	80.4	51,726	11,542	22.3
2011	116,727	64,278	55.1	66,904	53,638	80.2	49,823	10,640	21.4
2012	118,788	66,165	55.7	69,936	55,777	79.8	48,852	10,388	21.3
2013	113,036	64,235	56.8	67,512	54,425	80.6	45,524	9,810	21.5
2014	104,845	60,645	57.8	64,337	51,559	80.1	40,508	9,086	22.4
2015	101,611	60,842	59.9	64,636	52,331	81.0	36,975	8,511	23.0
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2016.
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, 1992–2015
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	558,632	57,363	10.3	255,283	29,169	11.4	303,349	28,194	9.3
2005	514,277	51,732	10.1	231,252	26,556	11.5	283,025	25,176	8.9
2006	514,442	51,156	9.9	227,921	26,078	11.4	286,521	25,078	8.8
2007	519,255	57,034	11.0	224,455	29,822	13.3	294,800	27,212	9.2
2008	546,426	59,255	10.8	222,900	29,957	13.4	323,526	29,298	9.1
2009	644,205	64,082	9.9	264,474	33,220	12.6	379,731	30,862	8.1
2010	706,064	63,209	9.0	299,813	34,296	11.4	406,251	28,913	7.1
2011	724,417	65,225	9.0	314,326	36,358	11.6	410,091	28,867	7.0
2012	714,046	62,926	8.8	316,661	35,122	11.1	397,385	27,804	7.0
2013	682,107	58,897	8.6	316,002	33,422	10.6	366,105	25,475	7.0
2014	640,179	58,232	9.1	314,021	34,845	11.1	326,158	23,387	7.2
2015	479,327	43,015	9.0	246,523	26,757	10.9	232,804	16,258	7.0
	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	545,180	54,527	10.0	249,568	28,202	11.3	295,612	26,325	8.9
2005	501,374	49,029	9.8	225,707	25,640	11.4	275,667	23,389	8.5
2006	500,913	48,406	9.7	222,465	25,256	11.4	278,448	23,150	8.3
2007	503,474	54,432	10.8	218,684	28,950	13.2	284,790	25,482	8.9
2008	527,774	56,838	10.8	216,971	29,112	13.4	310,803	27,726	8.9
2009	621,659	61,294	9.9	258,002	32,318	12.5	363,657	28,976	8.0
2010	681,774	60,453	8.9	293,186	33,389	11.4	388,588	27,064	7.0
2011	699,620	62,424	8.9	307,186	35,404	11.5	392,434	27,020	6.9
2012	688,136	60,210	8.7	308,986	34,189	11.1	379,150	26,021	6.9
2013	657,565	56,434	8.6	308,806	32,575	10.5	348,759	23,859	6.8
2014	618,570	55,956	9.0	307,422	34,036	11.1	311,148	21,920	7.0
2015	463,832	41,333	8.9	241,561	26,111	10.8	222,271	15,222	6.8
	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	6,475	1,549	23.9	3,457	597	17.3	3,018	952	31.5
2005	6,105	1,381	22.6	3,329	561	16.9	2,776	820	29.5
2006	5,985	1,308	21.9	3,120	461	14.8	2,865	847	29.6
2007	5,948	1,143	19.2	2,887	462	16.0	3,061	681	22.2
2008	6,347	922	14.5	2,858	392	13.7	3,489	530	15.2
2009	6,988	1,075	15.4	3,044	446	14.7	3,944	629	15.9
2010	7,359	1,054	14.3	3,073	463	15.1	4,286	591	13.8
2011	7,842	1,129	14.4	3,365	503	14.9	4,477	626	14.0
2012	8,133	1,121	13.8	3,540	479	13.5	4,593	642	14.0
2013	8,098	1,055	13.0	3,482	469	13.5	4,616	586	12.7
2014	7,698	1,034	13.4	3,322	473	14.2	4,376	561	12.8
2015	5,538	794	14.3	2,384	355	14.9	3,154	439	13.9
	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	6,977	1,287	18.4	2,258	370	16.4	4,719	917	19.4
2005	6,798	1,322	19.4	2,216	355	16.0	4,582	967	21.1
2006	7,544	1,442	19.1	2,336	361	15.5	5,208	1,081	20.8
2007	9,833	1,459	14.8	2,884	410	14.2	6,949	1,049	15.1
2008	12,305	1,495	12.1	3,071	453	14.8	9,234	1,042	11.3
2009	15,558	1,713	11.0	3,428	456	13.3	12,130	1,257	10.4
2010	16,931	1,702	10.1	3,554	444	12.5	13,377	1,258	9.4
2011	16,955	1,672	9.9	3,775	451	11.9	13,180	1,221	9.3
2012	17,777	1,595	9.0	4,135	454	11.0	13,642	1,141	8.4
2013	16,444	1,408	8.6	3,714	378	10.2	12,730	1,030	8.1
2014	13,911	1,242	8.9	3,277	336	10.3	10,634	906	8.5
2015	9,957	888	8.9	2,578	291	11.3	7,379	597	8.1
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2016.
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, 1992–2015
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	415,339	301,463	72.6	196,715	159,335	81.0	218,624	142,128	65.0
2005	384,341	282,797	73.6	178,312	145,587	81.6	206,029	137,210	66.6
2006	387,021	279,305	72.2	176,337	142,420	80.8	210,684	136,885	65.0
2007	387,409	274,911	71.0	169,874	136,100	80.1	217,535	138,811	63.8
2008	405,194	276,788	68.3	167,459	131,609	78.6	237,735	145,179	61.1
2009	478,223	308,513	64.5	198,777	149,947	75.4	279,446	158,566	56.7
2010	531,383	318,429	59.9	227,972	161,975	71.1	303,411	156,454	51.6
2011	543,550	304,033	55.9	236,707	158,378	66.9	306,843	145,655	47.5
2012	526,733	278,814	52.9	234,034	149,372	63.8	292,699	129,442	44.2
2013	417,234	226,234	54.2	195,966	125,890	64.2	221,268	100,344	45.3
2014	148,955	80,046	53.7	76,813	47,408	61.7	72,142	32,638	45.2
2015	14,154	6,903	48.8	8,246	4,631	56.2	5,908	2,272	38.5
	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	410,160	297,973	72.6	193,481	156,966	81.1	216,679	141,007	65.1
2005	379,242	279,186	73.6	175,088	143,130	81.7	204,154	136,056	66.6
2006	381,766	275,741	72.2	173,088	140,092	80.9	208,678	135,649	65.0
2007	379,551	270,126	71.2	166,455	133,706	80.3	213,096	136,420	64.0
2008	393,924	270,205	68.6	163,637	128,858	78.7	230,287	141,347	61.4
2009	464,927	301,385	64.8	194,768	147,154	75.6	270,159	154,231	57.1
2010	517,096	311,417	60.2	223,779	159,200	71.1	293,317	152,217	51.9
2011	528,747	296,919	56.2	232,145	155,427	67.0	296,602	141,492	47.7
2012	510,841	271,653	53.2	229,178	146,390	63.9	281,663	125,263	44.5
2013	404,848	220,539	54.5	192,078	123,476	64.3	212,770	97,063	45.6
2014	144,892	78,108	53.9	75,277	46,418	61.7	69,615	31,690	45.5
2015	13,597	6,577	48.4	7,918	4,378	55.3	5,679	2,199	38.7
	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	2,589	79.9	2,199	1,804	82.0	1,042	785	75.3
2005	3,187	2,592	81.3	2,166	1,814	83.7	1,021	778	76.2
2006	3,172	2,574	81.1	2,087	1,726	82.7	1,085	848	78.2
2007	3,642	2,877	79.0	1,960	1,601	81.7	1,682	1,276	75.9
2008	4,403	3,458	78.5	2,055	1,707	83.1	2,348	1,751	74.6
2009	4,748	3,627	76.4	2,119	1,741	82.2	2,629	1,886	71.7
2010	5,127	3,682	71.8	2,175	1,697	78.0	2,952	1,985	67.2
2011	5,355	3,763	70.3	2,345	1,762	75.1	3,010	2,001	66.5
2012	5,580	3,661	65.6	2,458	1,772	72.1	3,122	1,889	60.5
2013	4,735	3,134	66.2	2,062	1,500	72.7	2,673	1,634	61.1
2014	1,819	1,206	66.3	889	660	74.2	930	546	58.7
2015	286	224	78.3	213	186	87.3	73	38	52.1
	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	901	46.5	1,035	565	54.6	903	336	37.2
2005	1,912	1,019	53.3	1,058	643	60.8	854	376	44.0
2006	2,083	990	47.5	1,162	602	51.8	921	388	42.1
2007	4,216	1,908	45.3	1,459	793	54.4	2,757	1,115	40.4
2008	6,867	3,125	45.5	1,767	1,044	59.1	5,100	2,081	40.8
2009	8,548	3,501	41.0	1,890	1,052	55.7	6,658	2,449	36.8
2010	9,160	3,330	36.4	2,018	1,078	53.4	7,142	2,252	31.5
2011	9,448	3,351	35.5	2,217	1,189	53.6	7,231	2,162	29.9
2012	10,312	3,500	33.9	2,398	1,210	50.5	7,914	2,290	28.9
2013	7,651	2,561	33.5	1,826	914	50.1	5,825	1,647	28.3
2014	2,244	732	32.6	647	330	51.0	1,597	402	25.2
2015	271	102	37.6	115	67	58.3	156	35	22.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through July 2016.
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, 1992–2015
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	961,376	100.0	26.4	4.9	31.5	37.2
2005	907,877	100.0	26.5	4.7	32.0	36.8
2006	890,752	100.0	26.4	4.5	31.9	37.3
2007	913,167	100.0	26.1	4.6	32.7	36.6
2008	969,623	100.0	25.5	5.2	34.2	35.2
2009	1,104,985	100.0	24.3	5.2	35.7	34.7
2010	1,118,449	100.0	23.1	5.1	36.3	35.5
2011	1,070,241	100.0	22.5	5.0	37.7	34.8
2012	1,028,187	100.0	22.3	5.0	38.5	34.2
2013	925,409	100.0	23.4	4.9	38.7	33.0
2014	744,849	100.0	28.3	5.6	45.0	21.1
2015	607,175	100.0	33.0	5.9	47.9	13.2
	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	883,784	100.0	26.7	5.2	32.9	35.2
2005	829,087	100.0	27.0	4.9	33.6	34.5
2006	811,818	100.0	26.9	4.7	33.5	34.9
2007	828,737	100.0	26.5	4.9	34.6	34.0
2008	877,985	100.0	26.0	5.5	36.2	32.3
2009	1,005,453	100.0	24.8	5.5	37.8	31.8
2010	1,014,751	100.0	23.6	5.4	38.6	32.4
2011	967,420	100.0	23.0	5.4	40.3	31.4
2012	921,800	100.0	23.0	5.4	41.4	30.2
2013	823,601	100.0	24.2	5.3	42.0	28.5
2014	651,729	100.0	29.9	6.2	49.7	14.2
2015	517,749	100.0	35.8	6.6	54.2	3.4
	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	30,780	100.0	10.1	1.9	26.0	62.0
2005	30,215	100.0	9.7	1.7	25.5	63.1
2006	29,443	100.0	9.6	1.5	24.2	64.7
2007	29,539	100.0	9.1	1.6	24.3	64.9
2008	31,134	100.0	8.7	1.7	24.8	64.7
2009	32,493	100.0	8.1	1.9	26.0	63.9
2010	34,213	100.0	7.7	1.9	25.3	65.1
2011	33,552	100.0	7.8	1.7	25.3	65.3
2012	35,196	100.0	6.8	1.6	24.3	67.3
2013	33,658	100.0	6.3	1.6	23.4	68.7
2014	30,543	100.0	6.8	1.6	23.5	68.1
2015	27,637	100.0	7.3	1.4	23.2	68.1
	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	46,812	100.0	30.1	2.7	8.5	58.6
2005	48,575	100.0	28.5	2.5	8.3	60.7
2006	49,491	100.0	28.4	2.6	8.8	60.2
2007	54,891	100.0	28.3	2.6	9.0	60.1
2008	60,504	100.0	26.6	2.5	8.6	62.2
2009	67,039	100.0	24.8	2.5	8.8	63.9
2010	69,485	100.0	23.2	2.3	8.3	66.1
2011	69,269	100.0	21.9	2.3	7.9	67.8
2012	71,191	100.0	21.5	2.2	7.3	68.9
2013	68,150	100.0	21.2	2.1	7.1	69.6
2014	62,577	100.0	21.8	2.0	6.9	69.3
2015	61,789	100.0	21.0	1.8	6.1	71.1
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2016. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2016.
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, 1992–2015
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	683,445	100.0	6.8	18.4	27.6	31.5	15.7
2005	649,134	100.0	6.5	19.2	26.7	31.4	16.3
2006	660,526	100.0	6.3	19.8	26.2	31.3	16.4
2007	649,820	100.0	6.3	20.4	26.3	31.0	16.0
2008	670,068	100.0	5.8	21.4	26.0	31.3	15.5
2009	796,799	100.0	4.7	22.5	25.4	32.3	15.2
2010	876,381	100.0	4.1	23.4	24.7	32.3	15.6
2011	887,299	100.0	3.9	23.9	20.4	33.6	18.3
2012	873,902	100.0	3.8	24.8	16.1	38.8	16.4
2013	774,577	100.0	4.1	25.4	14.8	41.1	14.5
2014	654,293	100.0	4.4	25.5	13.3	39.6	17.3
2015	601,324	100.0	4.6	24.8	11.8	40.2	18.6
	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	648,622	100.0	7.0	18.2	28.5	30.8	15.4
2005	614,442	100.0	6.7	19.0	27.7	30.6	16.0
2006	620,571	100.0	6.5	19.5	27.4	30.6	16.0
2007	606,890	100.0	6.6	20.1	27.7	30.0	15.6
2008	625,868	100.0	6.1	21.1	27.4	30.3	15.1
2009	744,521	100.0	4.9	22.4	26.8	31.2	14.8
2010	818,632	100.0	4.3	23.2	26.1	31.2	15.3
2011	830,167	100.0	4.1	23.7	21.4	32.6	18.2
2012	816,816	100.0	4.0	24.6	17.0	38.2	16.2
2013	722,625	100.0	4.4	25.2	15.6	40.7	14.2
2014	609,471	100.0	4.6	25.2	14.0	39.1	17.1
2015	560,570	100.0	4.9	24.5	12.4	39.8	18.4
	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	9,576	100.0	3.6	26.5	32.2	23.0	14.7
2005	9,279	100.0	3.6	26.7	32.0	22.8	15.0
2006	9,812	100.0	3.8	25.7	31.6	23.1	15.9
2007	9,004	100.0	3.6	27.3	31.3	21.9	15.9
2008	8,656	100.0	3.3	27.7	30.8	21.9	16.2
2009	8,968	100.0	2.8	28.8	30.2	22.2	16.0
2010	9,755	100.0	2.7	29.4	27.9	23.9	16.0
2011	9,859	100.0	2.9	28.2	27.0	24.8	17.0
2012	10,032	100.0	2.4	28.8	23.4	28.4	17.1
2013	9,597	100.0	2.4	29.0	22.0	31.5	15.1
2014	8,490	100.0	2.6	27.8	20.9	31.4	17.4
2015	7,706	100.0	2.4	26.2	20.2	32.6	18.6
	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	25,247	100.0	1.9	22.1	0.5	52.4	23.1
2005	25,413	100.0	1.8	21.3	0.4	52.8	23.8
2006	30,143	100.0	1.7	23.6	0.4	50.3	23.9
2007	33,926	100.0	1.6	24.0	0.3	49.9	24.2
2008	35,544	100.0	1.5	24.8	0.2	51.0	22.5
2009	43,310	100.0	1.2	23.4	0.1	53.5	21.8
2010	47,994	100.0	1.2	24.7	0.1	53.1	20.9
2011	47,273	100.0	1.0	26.2	0.0	52.6	20.2
2012	47,054	100.0	0.9	27.7	0.0	51.8	19.5
2013	42,355	100.0	0.9	28.2	0.0	51.7	19.3
2014	36,332	100.0	1.0	29.3	0.0	49.5	20.3
2015	33,048	100.0	0.9	29.5	0.0	48.2	21.4
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research file, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data for the initial and reconsideration levels are current through June 2016. Data for the hearing level or above are current through July 2016.
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.