RFG Background Brief #1: "Social Security Appeals - How long do they take? What are my chances for success?"
[January 17, 2005]
Donald N. Freedman

RFG Background Brief #1: "I am filing for Social Security Disability. How long does it take? What if I have to appeal?"


We are often asked how long it takes for the Social Security Administration to handle applications for Disability Benefits and appeals of applications that are initially denied. People also ask what percentage of cases are denied, and of those how many are successfully appealed.

According to the Social Security Administration, the average time for the handling of an initial claim (to the point of the issuance of a favorable decision or denial) is three to four months. Reconsideration, the first level of appeal, takes another three months. If the Reconsideration decision is not favorable, the average wait for a hearing before an administrative law judge is about ten months after the Reconsideration decision. Please recognize that these are national averages. The timeline on an individual case will vary depending the work-load and efficiency of your local Social Security district office, on the nature of the reason for the denial, and on how quickly you file your appeals and respond to information requests from the agency.

Regarding Social Security approvals and denials, Social Security reports that sixty cases out of every one hundred are denied initially. Of the sixty cases that are initially denied, twenty-five are appealed to the reconsideration level. Of the twenty-five cases appealed to the Reconsideration level, six are approved and nineteen are denied. Of the nineteen cases appealed beyond the Reconsideration level, TWELVE are approved and SEVEN are denied.

Said in a different way, 40% of initial decisions are favorable; 19% of reconsideration decisions are favorable; and 63% of hearing decisions are favorable.

What do these statistics mean?

First, they do not say anything about the likely outcome in a particular case. That depends largely on the particular facts of your case -- the nature and severity of the impairment or impairments causing the disability, your age, education, training and experience, your medical documentation, and the quality and thoroughness of the presentation of your case to Social Security. Also, many people with valid claims forego appeal out of discouragement; many people, with emotional or cognitive impairments, just don't have the ability to understand and follow the steps necessary to appeal.

However, the statistics do support the conclusion that a large proportion of initially denied claims are ultimately approved on appeal. If a person has a claim that she feel is valid, she should not be discouraged by an initial denial. Have the case evaluated by an attorney with experience in Social Security Disability cases. Although the Reconsideration level of appeal is seldom productive, the hearing level of appeal, with administrative law judges, has historically been a place in which a person can have confidence that she will get a full and independent review.

The source of the statistical information in this article is:

http://www.ssa.gov/disability/disability_process_frameset.html

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