2015 Annual Report of the SSI Program

C. Historical Allowance Data

At the end of 2014, 86 percent of federally administered Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients were receiving benefits based on disability or blindness. Individuals file claims at a local Social Security office, and we send claims requiring an evaluation of disability to the State disability determination services (DDS) for a disability decision. Applicants may appeal unfavorable initial DDS decisions. Historically, the State DDS conducted the first level of appeal — the reconsideration appeal step. Claimants denied at the reconsideration level could then request 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 through the Federal court system. This appeals process is still in effect for the majority of new applicants.¹ However, since the mid-1990s the Social Security Administration (SSA) has conducted small pilots testing revisions to this process and introduced a modification of this process that 10 States use for applications filed on or after October 1, 1999. The revised process eliminates the reconsideration step, so the first level of appeal of an initial determination is a request for hearing before an ALJ.

This process of application and appeal can 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. Only a longitudinal database of administrative records at all stages of appeal can provide a complete picture of the disability determination process. Beginning in 1993, SSA’s Office of Disability Programs constructed such a longitudinal database, the “Disability Research File,” to assist our agency in understanding and managing this process. However, we did encounter some problems in the construction of this database 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, tables V.C1 and V.C2 present the latest available summary of results on disability determinations under Title XVI.

1. Technical Notes on the Disability Research File

Methods used to build the Title XVI Disability Research File — The “base” file for the Title XVI research file is the Supplemental Security Record, the main computerized file for administering the SSI program. We match the “base” file 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 Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) appeals data.

Creating the Disability Research File is a cumbersome process; it involves about 200 steps and generally requires 2 to 4 months to complete. The process is complex because we assemble the file based on filing date cohorts, and many of the source files do not contain a filing date. The basic data sources provide information for the 3 most recent calendar year cohorts. Older calendar year cohorts reflect updated activity since the last time we built the file. Since the process is so time consuming, we update the research file only annually (usually beginning in July); research file data are not yet available for claims filed in 2014.

Methods used for estimating results (through January 2015) for claims filed in 2014 — Although decision counts are available for 2014 filers from many of the source files, those counts do not translate directly into the claims/appeals counts in the following tables because we consolidate multiple transactions and apply claims-based tolerance rules when we build the research file.

To prepare preliminary estimates of results through January 2015 for 2014 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. We estimate ODAR appeals activity from a file that tracks individual claimants, rather than individual claims, which has resulted in a slight undercount of ODAR individual claims. Recent revocation of the agency’s subsequent application (i.e., an application filed while an earlier claim is pending at a review level) policy should largely eliminate the disparity between the number of claims and claimants.

While we believe that these methods are reasonable, we emphasize that the resulting estimates may not be completely reliable, especially because the estimates give results only through January 2015, whereas the final research files will reflect information through June 2015. Actual data for 2014 will replace these estimates in the 2016 Annual Report.

2. General Considerations

Some general points that apply to tables V.C1 and V.C2 are as follows:

•	Data for 1988-2013 filers are as of June 2014 for decisions at the DDS level. Results for those years’ filers include results at the hearing and Appeals Council levels and Federal courts through July 2014.

•

Data for 2014 filers are preliminary estimates as of January 2015, and reflect larger numbers of claims still pending. January 2015 data on number of appeals 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 we usually decide allowances more quickly than denials, we expect that the percent allowed will ultimately be lower when the processing of all cases is complete.

•

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

•	The tables do not show the cases appealed to the Office of the Federal Reviewing Official level under the DSI process separately, but we included these cases in the reconsideration counts.

•

In reports issued in 2010 and earlier, we counted allowances at the highest adjudicative level a filer reached. Beginning with data in the 2011 Annual Report for claims filed after 1999, we now count allowances at the earliest adjudicative level of allowance. For claims filed prior to 2000, we continue to count allowances at the highest adjudicative level reached.

 

Table V.C1.—Disabled Adult Claims: Disposition of Applications for SSI Disability Benefits by
Year of Filing^a and Level of Decision^b

Calendar year of filing	Total claims filed	Initial decisions
		Pending	Allowances		Denials		Appeals of initial denials
			Number	Percent c	Number	Percent c	Number d	Percent e
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	357,973	43.8
1998	1,108,957	—	322,734	29.1	786,223	70.9	339,288	43.2
1999	1,105,109	—	326,734	29.6	778,375	70.4	340,114	43.7
2000	1,139,623	—	347,024	30.5	792,599	69.5	338,664	42.7
2001	1,216,040	—	368,981	30.3	847,059	69.7	360,793	42.6
2002	1,322,451	—	374,373	28.3	948,078	71.7	405,333	42.8
2003	1,403,003	—	382,013	27.2	1,020,990	72.8	431,548	42.3
2004	1,475,149	—	387,857	26.3	1,087,292	73.7	434,291	39.9
2005	1,470,300	—	373,582	25.4	1,096,718	74.6	420,441	38.3
2006	1,499,551	—	367,973	24.5	1,131,578	75.5	428,173	37.8
2007	1,506,654	—	376,632	25.0	1,130,022	75.0	436,633	38.6
2008	1,602,444	—	418,258	26.1	1,184,186	73.9	487,369	41.2
2009	1,831,721	—	465,276	25.4	1,366,445	74.6	572,241	41.9
2010	1,881,418	—	450,337	23.9	1,431,081	76.1	612,080	42.8
2011	1,842,499	—	425,626	23.1	1,416,873	76.9	627,252	44.3
2012	1,794,177	—	412,883	23.0	1,381,294	77.0	620,791	44.9
2013	1,632,089	21,888	373,131	23.2	1,237,070	76.8	556,454	45.0
2014	1,470,008	288,198	325,291	27.5	856,519	72.5	318,269	37.2

 

Calendar year of filing	Reconsiderationsf						Appeals beyond reconsideration g
	Pending	Allowances		Denials	Appeals of  reconsideration denials			Allowances
		Number	Percent c		Numberh	Percente	Pendingi	Number	Percentj	Denialsk
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	213,969	69.8	—	121,619	55.8	96,189
1998	—	46,507	13.7	292,272	203,767	69.7	—	115,323	56.5	88,953
1999	—	40,375	12.5	283,475	199,371	70.3	—	117,431	54.5	98,204
2000	—	37,768	13.4	243,790	173,465	71.2	—	122,829	53.3	107,742
2001	—	37,388	13.2	246,613	174,286	70.7	—	133,018	53.0	118,060
2002	—	38,617	12.2	277,567	195,633	70.5	—	150,228	52.8	134,554
2003	—	39,086	11.5	300,283	210,228	70.0	—	159,464	52.7	142,943
2004	—	37,197	10.9	302,649	211,583	69.9	—	163,800	53.5	142,228
2005	—	34,753	10.6	293,829	205,720	70.0	—	163,198	54.8	134,381
2006	—	34,145	10.3	298,918	210,304	70.4	—	169,829	55.6	135,585
2007	—	35,893	10.6	304,060	215,543	70.9	1,562	170,686	54.9	139,975
2008	—	40,868	10.7	341,794	245,570	71.8	3,594	186,179	53.7	160,504
2009	—	43,507	9.7	406,284	295,671	72.8	7,140	203,158	49.4	207,823
2010	—	41,231	8.5	441,260	328,970	74.6	16,332	198,837	45.0	243,390
2011	—	42,102	8.5	451,375	340,922	75.5	62,919	181,982	44.2	229,796
2012	—	40,817	8.3	449,611	339,689	75.6	224,489	105,109	42.8	140,454
2013	61,832	28,179	7.5	346,141	243,997	70.5	334,160	9,313	30.9	20,826
2014	87,525	14,562	9.2	144,132	88,257	61.2	157,784	928	36.8	1,595
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
					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	462,031	—	648,867
1998	1,108,957	—	1,108,957	484,564	—	624,393
1999	1,105,109	—	1,105,109	484,540	—	620,569
2000	1,139,623	—	1,139,623	507,621	—	632,002
2001	1,216,040	—	1,216,040	539,387	—	676,653
2002	1,322,451	—	1,322,451	563,218	—	759,233
2003	1,403,003	—	1,403,003	580,563	—	822,440
2004	1,475,149	—	1,475,149	588,854	—	886,295
2005	1,470,300	—	1,470,300	571,533	—	898,767
2006	1,499,551	—	1,499,551	571,947	—	927,604
2007	1,506,654	—	1,506,654	583,211	1,562	921,881
2008	1,602,444	—	1,602,444	645,305	3,594	953,545
2009	1,831,721	—	1,831,721	711,941	7,140	1,112,640
2010	1,881,418	—	1,881,418	690,405	16,332	1,174,681
2011	1,842,499	—	1,842,499	649,710	62,919	1,129,870
2012	1,794,177	—	1,794,177	558,809	224,489	1,010,879
2013	1,632,089	21,888	1,610,201	410,623	395,992	803,586
2014	1,470,008	288,198	1,181,810	340,781	245,309	595,720
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
			Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending		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	—	43.8	—	56.2	43.8	—	56.2
2000	—	44.5	—	55.5	44.5	—	55.5
2001	—	44.4	—	55.6	44.4	—	55.6
2002	—	42.6	—	57.4	42.6	—	57.4
2003	—	41.4	—	58.6	41.4	—	58.6
2004	—	39.9	—	60.1	39.9	—	60.1
2005	—	38.9	—	61.1	38.9	—	61.1
2006	—	38.1	—	61.9	38.1	—	61.9
2007	—	38.7	0.1	61.2	38.7	0.1	61.2
2008	—	40.3	.2	59.5	40.3	.2	59.5
2009	—	38.9	.4	60.7	38.9	.4	60.7
2010	—	36.7	.9	62.4	36.7	.9	62.4
2011	—	35.3	3.4	61.3	35.3	3.4	61.3
2012	—	31.1	12.5	56.3	31.1	12.5	56.3
2013	1.3	25.2	24.3	49.2	25.5	24.6	49.9
2014	19.6	23.2	16.7	40.5	28.8	20.8	50.4

a

Data for claims filed in 1988‑2013 reflect results as of June 2014 at the DDS level and as of July 2014 at the ODAR level. The numbers of total claims filed for 2011-2013 are subject to change. Data for claims filed in 2014 are preliminary estimates as of January 2015. The ultimate numbers of allowances and denials are subject to change until all initial decisions have been completed and all appeals are final.

b

For claims filed in 2000 or later, we count allowances at the earliest adjudicative level of allowance. We count allowances for claims filed prior to 2000 at the highest adjudicative level reached.

c

Percentage of decisions at this level

d

Includes certain cases that can be appealed directly to the hearing level.

e

Percentage of denials at this level appealed to next level.

f

Includes cases reviewed by the Office of the Federal Reviewing Official (OFedRO) during the period August 2006 through November 2008 as part of the DSI process.

g

Includes cases appealed to the hearing and Appeals Council levels and cases appealed to the to the Federal courts.

h

Number of persons appealing beyond the reconsideration level.

i

Includes cases remanded to SSA from the Federal courts.

j

Percentage of decisions at this level. For years in which decisions are still pending, the preliminary percentage shown is expected to ultimately be lower as all cases are processed. This occurs because allowances are generally processed more quickly than denials.

k

Includes denied claims where the final administrative action was a dismissal of an appeal request (e.g., the appeal was not filed timely or the applicant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing).

 

Table V.C2.—Disabled Child Claims: Disposition of Applications for SSI Disability Benefits by
Year of Filing ^a and Level of Decision^b

Calendar year of filing	Total claims filed	Initial decisions
		Pending	Allowances		Denials		Appeals of initial denials
			Number	Percentc	Number	Percent c	Number d	Percent e
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	50,110	23.6
1999	342,162	—	129,375	37.8	212,787	62.2	49,996	23.5
2000	349,285	—	138,262	39.6	211,023	60.4	48,156	22.8
2001	367,726	—	152,651	41.5	215,075	58.5	49,013	22.8
2002	402,116	—	165,220	41.1	236,896	58.9	55,863	23.6
2003	425,336	—	172,655	40.6	252,681	59.4	59,700	23.6
2004	435,562	—	174,514	40.1	261,048	59.9	58,534	22.4
2005	424,876	—	163,705	38.5	261,171	61.5	55,364	21.2
2006	432,747	—	160,959	37.2	271,788	62.8	58,607	21.6
2007	433,941	—	160,261	36.9	273,680	63.1	60,040	21.9
2008	449,451	—	171,593	38.2	277,858	61.8	66,097	23.8
2009	516,130	—	193,872	37.6	322,258	62.4	79,982	24.8
2010	517,642	—	186,513	36.0	331,129	64.0	82,492	24.9
2011	505,692	—	179,592	35.5	326,100	64.5	82,879	25.4
2012	491,701	—	175,266	35.6	316,435	64.4	80,517	25.4
2013	444,311	3,957	157,938	35.9	282,416	64.1	67,277	23.8
2014	415,327	78,011	145,383	43.1	191,933	56.9	35,385	18.4

 

Calendar year of filing	Reconsiderationsf						Appeals beyond reconsiderationg
	Pending	Allowances		Denials	Appeals of  reconsideration denials			Allowances
		Number	Percent c		Numberh	Percente	Pendingi	Number	Percentj	Denialsk
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	18,916	44.3	—	7,027	36.2	12,411
1998	—	7,799	15.6	42,237	18,762	44.4	—	7,034	37.3	11,802
1999	—	6,475	13.8	40,423	18,164	44.9	—	7,558	35.5	13,704
2000	—	6,043	16.0	31,741	14,366	45.3	—	8,451	34.2	16,287
2001	—	5,839	16.1	30,318	13,448	44.4	—	8,825	33.6	17,479
2002	—	6,360	15.4	34,842	15,216	43.7	—	9,909	33.2	19,968
2003	—	6,644	14.8	38,275	16,208	42.3	—	10,237	33.0	20,752
2004	—	6,209	14.1	37,948	15,758	41.5	—	10,021	33.3	20,114
2005	—	6,020	14.2	36,306	15,187	41.8	—	9,578	33.9	18,647
2006	—	6,158	13.6	39,049	16,427	42.1	—	10,823	36.3	19,004
2007	—	6,016	12.9	40,557	17,172	42.3	63	11,147	36.5	19,429
2008	—	6,888	13.2	45,196	19,705	43.6	184	11,762	35.1	21,772
2009	—	7,704	12.3	54,757	24,571	44.9	375	12,897	30.9	28,820
2010	—	7,548	11.6	57,616	26,196	45.5	1,017	11,866	27.9	30,641
2011	—	7,492	11.3	58,563	27,380	46.8	5,225	11,057	28.4	27,922
2012	—	6,985	10.9	57,317	26,471	46.2	19,736	6,049	26.4	16,901
2013	6,057	4,891	10.4	41,916	17,381	41.5	29,094	469	17.4	2,231
2014	9,132	2,210	12.0	16,224	5,358	33.0	12,941	33	14.0	203
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
					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	121,821	—	210,211
1998	335,732	—	335,732	138,082	—	197,650
1999	342,162	—	342,162	143,408	—	198,754
2000	349,285	—	349,285	152,756	—	196,529
2001	367,726	—	367,726	167,315	—	200,411
2002	402,116	—	402,116	181,489	—	220,627
2003	425,336	—	425,336	189,536	—	235,800
2004	435,562	—	435,562	190,744	—	244,818
2005	424,876	—	424,876	179,303	—	245,573
2006	432,747	—	432,747	177,940	—	254,807
2007	433,941	—	433,941	177,424	63	256,454
2008	449,451	—	449,451	190,243	184	259,024
2009	516,130	—	516,130	214,473	375	301,282
2010	517,642	—	517,642	205,927	1,017	310,698
2011	505,692	—	505,692	198,141	5,225	302,326
2012	491,701	—	491,701	188,300	19,736	283,665
2013	444,311	3,957	440,354	163,298	35,151	241,905
2014	415,327	78,011	337,316	147,626	22,073	167,617
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
			Appeal decision pending	No appeal pending		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	—	41.9	—	58.1	41.9	—	58.1
2000	—	43.7	—	56.3	43.7	—	56.3
2001	—	45.5	—	54.5	45.5	—	54.5
2002	—	45.1	—	54.9	45.1	—	54.9
2003	—	44.6	—	55.4	44.6	—	55.4
2004	—	43.8	—	56.2	43.8	—	56.2
2005	—	42.2	—	57.8	42.2	—	57.8
2006	—	41.1	—	58.9	41.1	—	58.9
2007	—	40.9	l	59.1	40.9	l	59.1
2008	—	42.3	l	57.6	42.3	l	57.6
2009	—	41.6	0.1	58.4	41.6	0.1	58.4
2010	—	39.8	.2	60.0	39.8	.2	60.0
2011	—	39.2	1.0	59.8	39.2	1.0	59.8
2012	—	38.3	4.0	57.7	38.3	4.0	57.7
2013	0.9	36.8	7.9	54.4	37.1	8.0	54.9
2014	18.8	35.5	5.3	40.4	43.8	6.5	49.7

 

a

Data for claims filed in 1988‑2013 reflect results as of June 2014 at the DDS level and as of July 2014 at the ODAR level. The numbers of total claims filed for 2011-2013 are subject to change. Data for claims filed in 2014 are preliminary estimates as of January 2015. The ultimate numbers of allowances and denials are subject to change until all initial decisions have been completed and all appeals are final.

b

For claims filed in 2000 or later, we count allowances at the earliest adjudicative level of allowance. We count allowances for claims filed prior to 2000 at the highest adjudicative level reached.

c

Percentage of decisions at this level

d

Includes certain cases that can be appealed directly to the hearing level.

e

Percentage of denials at this level appealed to next level.

f

Includes cases reviewed by the Office of the Federal Reviewing Official (OFedRO) during the period August 2006 through November 2008 as part of the DSI process.

g

Includes cases appealed to the hearing and Appeals Council levels and cases appealed to the Federal courts.

h

Number of persons appealing beyond the reconsideration level.

i

Includes cases remanded to SSA from the Federal courts.

j

Percentage of decisions at this level. For years in which decisions are still pending, the preliminary percentage shown is expected to ultimately be lower as all cases are processed. This occurs because allowances are generally processed more quickly than denials.

k

Includes denied claims where the final administrative action was a dismissal of an appeal request (e.g., the appeal was not filed timely or the applicant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing).

l

Less than 0.05 percent.

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1

SSA first implemented the Disability Service Improvement (DSI) process in the Boston Region in August 2006 (for the SSI and Social Security Disability Insurance programs). The DSI process eliminated reconsideration as the first level of appeal of an initial disability determination and introduced review by the Office of the Federal Reviewing Official (OFedRO) in its place. By final rule published in the Federal Register (73 FR 2411), SSA suspended new claims to the OFedRO level; this change was effective March 23, 2008 (73 FR 10381). For those initial disability appeals that had not been transferred to OFedRO on or before the effective date, the procedure for the first level of appeal reverted to that which was in place prior to August 2006, (i.e., reconsideration). The DSI regulations also modified administrative appeal of an ALJ’s decision or dismissal by: (1) setting requirements on the timeliness for submission of evidence for consideration by the ALJ; and (2) eliminating the Appeals Council as a separate appeals step. By final rule (76 FR 24802), we restored the Appeals Council appeal step, although the other modifications concerning which evidence can be considered remain in effect in the Boston Region.