Allowance Data: 2007 SSI Report

At the end of 2006, 83 percent of SSI recipients were receiving benefits based on a determination of disability. Claims are filed at a local Social Security office and claims requiring an evaluation of disability are sent to the State Disability Determination Services (DDS) for a decision. Initial DDS decisions that are unfavorable to the applicant may be appealed. Until recently, all appeals were initiated at the DDS level with a request for reconsideration of that initial denial. Persons denied at the reconsideration level could then apply to the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), formerly known as the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), and if dissatisfied with the hearing decision could request a review by the Appeals Council. Those dissatisfied with the Appeals Council's action could seek further relief via the Federal court system. This appeals process is still in effect for the majority of new applicants. However, in recent years SSA has conducted small pilots testing revisions to this process and introduced a modification of this process that has been utilized in 10 States for applications filed on or after October 1, 1999. Under this revised process appeals of initial denials are made directly to ODAR, thereby eliminating the reconsideration step. The options for appeal beyond the ODAR level are unchanged.

Such a process of application and appeal can, in some cases, span several years. However, before 1993, the only data available on the disability determination process resided in files compiled at each separate stage of the process and only captured various point-in-time snapshots. A complete picture of the disability determination process can be fully understood only by compiling a longitudinal database from administrative records at all levels of appeal. Beginning in 1993, such a longitudinal database (the "Disability Research File") was constructed by SSA's Office of Disability Programs to assist the agency in understanding and managing this process. In constructing this database, some problems were encountered due to inconsistencies in the data collected from all the respective levels of appeal. The following sections present some additional details and qualifications essential to a complete understanding of the resulting data. Following these technical notes are tables based on the Disability Research File which show the latest available summary of results on disability determinations under title XVI.

Methods used to build the title XVI Disability Research File—The "base" file for the title XVI research file is the Supplemental Security Record (SSR). This "base" file is matched against records from various other administrative sources, including transactions from the disability determination (SSA-831) files, Social Security number identification records and earnings data, and ODAR case control data.

The process used to build this research file is cumbersome, involving about 200 steps, and generally requiring 2 to 4 months to complete. Much of this complexity flows from the fact that the file is assembled based on filing date cohorts, even though many of the source files do not contain a filing date. The three most recent calendar year cohorts are completely reassembled from the basic data sources. Older calendar year cohorts are updated to reflect activity since the last time the file was built. Since the process is so time consuming, the research file is updated only annually (usually beginning in July). Therefore, research file data are not yet available for claims filed in 2006.

Methods used for estimating results (through February 2007) for claims filed in 2006—Although decision counts are available for 2006 filers (from many of the "source" files), those counts do not translate directly into the claims/appeals counts included in the following tables, due to the consolidation of multiple transactions (and application of claims-based tolerance rules) which occurs when the research file is built.

To prepare preliminary estimates of results (through February 2007) for 2006 filers, we started from the latest available transaction data, such as the SSA-831 data, and took into account recent years' experience of the relationship between corresponding earlier transaction data and the resulting claims/appeals data in completed research files. Estimates of ODAR appeals activity are taken from a file which tracks individual claimants, rather than individual claims. Therefore, this may result in a slight undercount of ODAR activity.

While we believe that the methods used are reasonable, it must be emphasized that the resulting estimates may prove to be of limited reliability, especially in light of the fact that the estimates give results only through February 2007, whereas the final research files will reflect information through June 2007. Actual data for 2006 will be available to replace these estimates in the 2008 Annual Report.

Data for 1988-2005 filers are as of June 2006. Results for those years' filers have been updated to include ODAR results through August 2006.

Data for 2006 filers are preliminary estimates as of February 2007, and reflect larger numbers of claims still pending. February 2007 data on number of claims appealed may be too low because larger numbers of claimants are still within the period allowed for filing an appeal (i.e., larger numbers of recently denied claimants who have not yet filed an appeal may appeal before the time limit runs out).

Remaining appeals will affect the results. Since allowances are generally processed more quickly than denials, we expect that the percent allowed will ultimately be lower as all cases are processed.

In certain pilot activities and under the revised process introduced October 1, 1999 in 10 States, initial denials can be appealed directly to ODAR without a separate reconsideration step. As a result the appeals of initial denials shown in these tables include cases which will not receive a decision at the reconsideration level.

Table V.C1.—Disabled Adult Claims: Disposition of Applications for SSI Disability Benefits by
Year of Filing ¹ and Level of Decision
Calendar year of filing	Total claims filed	Initial decisions
		Pending	Allowances		Denials		Appeals of initial denials
		Pending	Number	Percent ²	Number	Percent ²	Number ³	Percent ⁴
1988	946,603	—	272,204	28.8	674,399	71.2	265,151	39.3
1989	969,218	—	292,044	30.1	677,174	69.9	274,823	40.6
1990	1,099,805	—	347,823	31.6	751,982	68.4	320,207	42.6
1991	1,288,331	—	415,336	32.2	872,995	67.8	383,669	43.9
1992	1,415,624	—	436,888	30.9	978,736	69.1	433,244	44.3
1993	1,503,278	—	416,300	27.7	1,086,978	72.3	485,166	44.6
1994	1,436,958	—	353,995	24.6	1,082,963	75.4	482,533	44.6
1995	1,318,416	—	323,084	24.5	995,332	75.5	439,166	44.1
1996	1,247,926	—	305,351	24.5	942,575	75.5	406,425	43.1
1997	1,110,898	—	292,839	26.4	818,059	73.6	357,972	43.8
1998	1,108,957	—	322,734	29.1	786,223	70.9	339,287	43.2
1999	1,104,975	—	326,607	29.6	778,368	70.4	332,235	42.7
2000	1,139,571	—	344,163	30.2	795,408	69.8	332,935	41.9
2001	1,216,182	—	365,932	30.1	850,250	69.9	355,165	41.8
2002	1,322,683	—	371,233	28.1	951,450	71.9	398,582	41.9
2003	1,403,442	—	378,538	27.0	1,024,904	73.0	424,698	41.4
2004	1,476,100	—	383,032	25.9	1,093,068	74.1	424,230	38.8
2005	1,472,953	23,250	360,651	24.9	1,089,052	75.1	367,954	33.8
2006	1,482,558	209,577	372,810	29.3	900,171	70.7	264,001	29.3


Calendar year of filing	Reconsiderations						Appeals beyond reconsideration ⁵
	Pending	Allowances		Denials	Appeals of reconsideration denials			Allowances
	Pending	Number	Percent ²	Denials	Number ⁶	Percent ⁴	Pending ⁷	Number	Percent ⁸	Denials ⁹
1988	—	38,385	14.5	226,766	140,663	62.0	—	82,414	58.6	58,249
1989	—	43,505	15.8	231,318	146,082	63.2	—	90,169	61.7	55,913
1990	—	52,055	16.3	268,152	175,520	65.5	—	109,098	62.2	66,422
1991	—	59,157	15.4	324,512	221,816	68.4	—	139,698	63.0	82,118
1992	—	58,819	13.6	374,425	260,554	69.6	—	159,084	61.1	101,470
1993	—	57,938	11.9	427,228	294,801	69.0	—	170,402	57.8	124,399
1994	—	55,822	11.6	426,711	293,448	68.8	—	164,537	56.1	128,911
1995	—	51,697	11.8	387,469	264,270	68.2	—	143,582	54.3	120,688
1996	—	49,263	12.1	357,162	242,407	67.9	—	133,323	55.0	109,084
1997	—	47,573	13.4	306,561	213,869	69.8	—	121,565	55.8	96,142
1998	—	46,507	13.7	292,272	203,188	69.5	—	115,208	56.6	88,488
1999	—	42,135	13.3	274,269	194,644	71.0	2,109	118,564	56.9	89,802
2000	—	39,522	14.3	237,714	170,264	71.6	3,093	125,064	56.1	97,806
2001	—	38,987	13.9	241,200	172,082	71.3	5,210	134,684	55.7	107,166
2002	—	40,290	12.9	271,278	193,416	71.3	12,862	149,299	55.8	118,269
2003	—	40,861	12.2	293,433	208,070	70.9	50,700	139,000	56.1	108,774
2004	—	37,849	11.4	294,765	204,886	69.5	161,792	77,956	57.9	56,754
2005	36,914	24,692	9.9	225,591	135,701	60.2	189,357	16,315	60.2	10,786
2006	59,986	16,011	11.4	124,972	64,222	51.4	120,853	4,451	69.5	1,950


Calendar year of filing	Selected summary case information by decision status: Numbers of cases
	Total claims filed	Initial decisions pending	Total initial decisions	Allowances	Denials
	Total claims filed	Initial decisions pending	Total initial decisions	Allowances	Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending
1988	946,603	—	946,603	393,003	—	553,600
1989	969,218	—	969,218	425,718	—	543,500
1990	1,099,805	—	1,099,805	508,976	—	590,829
1991	1,288,331	—	1,288,331	614,191	—	674,140
1992	1,415,624	—	1,415,624	654,791	—	760,833
1993	1,503,278	—	1,503,278	644,640	—	858,638
1994	1,436,958	—	1,436,958	574,354	—	862,604
1995	1,318,416	—	1,318,416	518,363	—	800,053
1996	1,247,926	—	1,247,926	487,937	—	759,989
1997	1,110,898	—	1,110,898	461,977	—	648,921
1998	1,108,957	—	1,108,957	484,449	—	624,508
1999	1,104,975	—	1,104,975	487,306	2,109	615,560
2000	1,139,571	—	1,139,571	508,749	3,093	627,729
2001	1,216,182	—	1,216,182	539,603	5,210	671,369
2002	1,322,683	—	1,322,683	560,822	12,862	748,999
2003	1,403,442	—	1,403,442	558,399	50,700	794,343
2004	1,476,100	—	1,476,100	498,837	161,792	815,471
2005	1,472,953	23,250	1,449,703	401,658	226,271	821,774
2006	1,482,558	209,577	1,272,981	393,272	180,839	698,870


Calendar year of filing	Selected summary case information by decision status
	Numbers as a percentage of total claims filed				Numbers as a percentage of total initial decisions
	Initial decision pending	Allowances	Denials		Allowances	Denials
	Initial decision pending	Allowances	Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending	Allowances	Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending
1988	—	41.5	—	58.5	41.5	—	58.5
1989	—	43.9	—	56.1	43.9	—	56.1
1990	—	46.3	—	53.7	46.3	—	53.7
1991	—	47.7	—	52.3	47.7	—	52.3
1992	—	46.3	—	53.7	46.3	—	53.7
1993	—	42.9	—	57.1	42.9	—	57.1
1994	—	40.0	—	60.0	40.0	—	60.0
1995	—	39.3	—	60.7	39.3	—	60.7
1996	—	39.1	—	60.9	39.1	—	60.9
1997	—	41.6	—	58.4	41.6	—	58.4
1998	—	43.7	—	56.3	43.7	—	56.3
1999	—	44.1	0.2	55.7	44.1	0.2	55.7
2000	—	44.6	.3	55.1	44.6	.3	55.1
2001	—	44.4	.4	55.2	44.4	.4	55.2
2002	—	42.4	1.0	56.6	42.4	1.0	56.6
2003	—	39.8	3.6	56.6	39.8	3.6	56.6
2004	—	33.8	11.0	55.2	33.8	11.0	55.2
2005	1.6	27.3	15.4	55.8	27.7	15.6	56.7
2006	14.1	26.5	12.2	47.1	30.9	14.2	54.9

Table V.C2.—Disabled Child Claims: Disposition of Applications for SSI Disability Benefits by
Year of Filing ¹ and Level of Decision
Calendar year of filing	Total claims filed	Initial decisions
		Pending	Allowances		Denials		Appeals of initial denials
		Pending	Number	Percent ²	Number	Percent ²	Number ³	Percent ⁴
1991	250,962	—	148,220	59.1	102,742	40.9	24,702	24.0
1992	372,971	—	189,079	50.7	183,892	49.3	49,297	26.8
1993	496,131	—	212,268	42.8	283,863	57.2	75,967	26.8
1994	525,013	—	172,219	32.8	352,794	67.2	92,093	26.1
1995	487,730	—	144,231	29.6	343,499	70.4	86,841	25.3
1996	453,473	—	127,416	28.1	326,057	71.9	75,013	23.0
1997	332,032	—	106,528	32.1	225,504	67.9	51,493	22.8
1998	335,732	—	123,249	36.7	212,483	63.3	50,109	23.6
1999	342,153	—	128,543	37.6	213,610	62.4	49,585	23.2
2000	349,288	—	136,989	39.2	212,299	60.8	48,169	22.7
2001	367,751	—	151,288	41.1	216,463	58.9	49,089	22.7
2002	402,130	—	163,772	40.7	238,358	59.3	55,863	23.4
2003	425,365	—	171,183	40.2	254,182	59.8	59,431	23.4
2004	435,984	—	173,465	39.8	262,519	60.2	58,006	22.1
2005	425,690	4,780	161,112	38.3	259,798	61.7	49,983	19.2
2006	433,612	50,803	160,316	41.9	222,493	58.1	35,895	16.1


Calendar year of filing	Reconsiderations						Appeals beyond reconsideration ⁵
	Pending	Allowances		Denials	Appeals of reconsideration denials			Allowances
	Pending	Number	Percent ²	Denials	Number ⁶	Percent ⁴	Pending ⁷	Number	Percent ⁸	Denials ⁹
1991	—	5,605	22.7	19,097	9,196	48.2	—	3,884	42.2	5,312
1992	—	9,463	19.2	39,834	19,770	49.6	—	7,523	38.1	12,247
1993	—	11,338	14.9	64,629	31,193	48.3	—	10,638	34.1	20,555
1994	—	11,332	12.3	80,761	38,433	47.6	—	12,954	33.7	25,479
1995	—	10,287	11.8	76,554	35,592	46.5	—	10,924	30.7	24,668
1996	—	9,355	12.5	65,658	27,920	42.5	—	8,853	31.7	19,067
1997	—	8,266	16.2	42,705	18,912	44.3	—	7,026	36.2	12,408
1998	—	7,799	15.6	42,237	18,701	44.3	—	7,029	37.4	11,745
1999	—	7,196	15.5	39,377	17,934	45.5	193	7,824	37.7	12,929
2000	—	6,932	18.3	31,051	14,428	46.5	291	8,904	36.6	15,419
2001	—	6,807	18.7	29,643	13,576	45.8	407	9,269	35.9	16,539
2002	—	7,426	17.9	34,024	15,329	45.1	1,082	10,136	35.4	18,524
2003	—	7,690	17.1	37,211	16,374	44.0	5,016	9,174	35.4	16,714
2004	—	7,094	16.2	36,750	15,693	42.7	16,730	4,886	37.2	8,239
2005	4,112	5,768	17.0	28,194	10,518	37.3	20,123	1,089	47.3	1,215
2006	6,920	2,601	13.0	17,385	5,463	31.4	13,905	191	34.9	356


Calendar year of filing	Selected summary case information by decision status: Numbers of cases
	Total claims filed	Initial decisions pending	Total initial decisions	Allowances	Denials
	Total claims filed	Initial decisions pending	Total initial decisions	Allowances	Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending
1991	250,962	—	250,962	157,709	—	93,253
1992	372,971	—	372,971	206,065	—	166,906
1993	496,131	—	496,131	234,244	—	261,887
1994	525,013	—	525,013	196,505	—	328,508
1995	487,730	—	487,730	165,442	—	322,288
1996	453,473	—	453,473	145,624	—	307,849
1997	332,032	—	332,032	121,820	—	210,212
1998	335,732	—	335,732	138,077	—	197,655
1999	342,153	—	342,153	143,563	193	198,397
2000	349,288	—	349,288	152,825	291	196,172
2001	367,751	—	367,751	167,364	407	199,980
2002	402,130	—	402,130	181,334	1,082	219,714
2003	425,365	—	425,365	188,047	5,016	232,302
2004	435,984	—	435,984	185,445	16,730	233,809
2005	425,690	4,780	420,910	167,969	24,235	228,706
2006	433,612	50,803	382,809	163,108	20,825	198,876


Calendar year of filing	Selected summary case information by decision status
	Numbers as a percentage of total claims filed				Numbers as a percentage of total initial decisions
	Initial decision pending	Allowances	Denials		Allowances	Denials
	Initial decision pending	Allowances	Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending	Allowances	Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending
1991	—	62.8	—	37.2	62.8	—	37.2
1992	—	55.2	—	44.8	55.2	—	44.8
1993	—	47.2	—	52.8	47.2	—	52.8
1994	—	37.4	—	62.6	37.4	—	62.6
1995	—	33.9	—	66.1	33.9	—	66.1
1996	—	32.1	—	67.9	32.1	—	67.9
1997	—	36.7	—	63.3	36.7	—	63.3
1998	—	41.1	—	58.9	41.1	—	58.9
1999	—	42.0	0.1	58.0	42.0	0.1	58.0
2000	—	43.8	.1	56.2	43.8	.1	56.2
2001	—	45.5	.1	54.4	45.5	.1	54.4
2002	—	45.1	.3	54.6	45.1	.3	54.6
2003	—	44.2	1.2	54.6	44.2	1.2	54.6
2004	—	42.5	3.8	53.6	42.5	3.8	53.6
2005	1.1	39.5	5.7	53.7	39.9	5.8	54.3
2006	11.7	37.6	4.8	45.9	42.6	5.4	52.0


SSA Home \| Privacy Policy \| Website Policies & Other Important Information \| Site Map \| Actuarial Publications	May 30, 2007

2007 Annual Report of the SSI Program