Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2025

Outcomes of Applications for Disability Benefits

Notes

The tables in this section provide statistics on the outcomes of applications for disability benefits. The statistics on applications are derived from the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) Disability Research File. 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 statistics in these tables are reported by year of filing and include decisions made through the conclusion of the administrative appeals process.

Table 60 shows the total number of applications filed in a year, the number that are pending a final decision, the number denied for nonmedical reasons before a medical decision is made (technical denials), 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 quarters of coverage.

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. 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 level or above.

From October 1999 through March 2020, the proportion of claims awarded at each level of the process was affected by a prototype process that SSA 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 resulted in a decrease in the aggregate proportion of claims awarded at this step. SSA began phasing out the prototype process on January 1, 2019, and by March 31, 2020, the reconsideration step had been reinstated in all 10 test states.

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, or
  • is able to perform another type of work.

Other denial reasons include impairment resulting from drug addiction or alcoholism, insufficient medical evidence, failure to cooperate, failure to follow prescribed treatment, not continuing development of the claim, and returns to substantial work before disability can be established.

Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 2015–2024

The final award rate for disabled-worker applicants has varied over time, averaging 29 percent for claims filed from 2015 through 2024. The share of applicants awarded benefits at the initial claims level has ranged narrowly from 18 percent to 21 percent. The percentages of applicants awarded at the reconsideration and hearing levels have averaged 2 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Denied disability claims have averaged 68 percent.

Area chart with tabular version below.
Show as table
Table equivalent for Chart 11. Final outcome of disabled-worker applications, 2015–2024 (percent)
Year Initial awards Reconsideration awards Awards at hearing level or above Pending final decision Medical denials Technical denials
2015 20.3 2.2 8.9 0.0 30.0 38.7
2016 20.4 2.2 8.5 0.0 29.7 39.2
2017 20.6 2.2 8.1 0.0 29.5 39.6
2018 20.7 2.3 7.9 0.1 28.9 40.1
2019 21.2 2.8 7.7 0.1 29.2 39.0
2020 20.9 2.8 7.8 0.2 29.4 39.0
2021 20.7 3.1 7.5 0.5 28.3 39.9
2022 20.1 3.0 6.2 2.5 27.4 40.8
2023 19.5 2.3 3.0 8.8 24.2 42.3
2024 18.4 1.0 0.4 11.5 22.5 46.1
 
SOURCE: Tables 60–63.
NOTE: 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.
Table 60. Outcomes at all adjudicative levels, by year of application, 1992–2024
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 2,216,565 0 651,753 641,811 7,914 913,269 1,818 41.2 58.5
2008 2,358,629 0 717,133 660,762 9,023 969,935 1,776 41.1 59.2
2009 2,753,012 0 845,192 789,506 10,686 1,105,781 1,847 40.2 58.1
2010 2,981,615 0 978,627 861,506 19,094 1,120,313 2,075 37.6 56.0
2011 2,952,112 0 981,930 872,759 20,762 1,074,600 2,061 36.4 54.6
2012 2,955,946 0 1,024,469 867,276 23,847 1,038,076 2,278 35.1 53.9
2013 2,790,688 0 971,035 827,002 24,972 965,434 2,245 34.6 53.2
2014 2,687,365 0 936,798 803,515 27,019 917,751 2,282 34.2 52.6
2015 2,547,682 0 904,231 760,578 27,501 853,073 2,299 33.5 52.0
2016 2,430,102 0 875,622 718,067 27,332 807,101 1,980 33.2 52.0
2017 2,306,264 0 834,113 677,828 28,079 764,311 1,933 33.1 52.0
2018 2,226,343 2,574 811,070 639,603 29,611 741,414 2,071 33.3 52.6
2019 2,183,466 2,458 774,996 639,911 28,516 735,710 1,875 33.7 52.5
2020 2,013,670 4,067 716,519 594,180 27,139 670,200 1,565 33.3 52.0
2021 2,005,440 10,012 733,951 569,452 27,132 663,421 1,472 33.2 52.7
2022 2,010,786 48,517 750,831 552,491 27,208 630,193 1,546 32.1 52.1
2023 2,096,685 177,505 811,751 509,435 30,001 566,389 1,604 29.5 51.3
2024 1,940,736 214,574 820,127 435,903 30,817 438,079 1,236 25.4 48.5
  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 2,083,897 0 646,511 599,001 7,799 828,834 1,752 39.8 57.8
2008 2,217,126 0 711,536 616,715 8,892 878,274 1,709 39.6 58.4
2009 2,595,028 0 839,206 737,312 10,538 1,006,200 1,772 38.8 57.4
2010 2,809,479 0 968,148 804,279 18,493 1,016,551 2,008 36.2 55.3
2011 2,780,981 0 971,069 815,997 20,268 971,651 1,996 34.9 53.8
2012 2,776,221 0 1,009,057 810,909 22,757 931,342 2,156 33.5 52.8
2013 2,620,315 0 958,204 773,665 24,012 862,286 2,148 32.9 52.0
2014 2,523,715 0 924,698 754,270 25,974 816,572 2,201 32.4 51.2
2015 2,383,373 0 892,521 714,073 26,452 748,126 2,201 31.4 50.3
2016 2,275,573 0 864,622 675,182 26,344 707,557 1,868 31.1 50.3
2017 2,153,539 0 823,492 636,277 27,069 664,862 1,839 30.9 50.1
2018 2,068,395 2,429 799,305 596,884 28,464 639,370 1,943 30.9 50.6
2019 2,028,572 2,322 762,281 591,338 27,103 643,857 1,671 31.8 51.1
2020 1,880,699 3,871 705,641 552,402 25,546 591,841 1,398 31.5 50.7
2021 1,878,310 9,694 723,001 531,331 25,545 587,441 1,298 31.4 51.4
2022 1,880,097 46,760 739,410 515,612 25,541 551,417 1,357 30.1 50.5
2023 1,957,398 171,925 797,875 473,831 28,200 484,159 1,408 27.1 49.2
2024 1,807,773 208,599 803,263 407,548 29,533 357,754 1,076 22.4 45.1
  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 8,975 28 29,540 27 72.4 76.7
2008 42,140 0 2,329 8,622 31 31,137 21 73.9 78.3
2009 44,059 0 2,551 8,943 43 32,502 20 73.8 78.4
2010 47,583 0 3,543 9,707 82 34,228 23 71.9 77.8
2011 47,030 0 3,498 9,835 74 33,589 34 71.4 77.2
2012 51,363 0 5,850 9,901 242 35,317 53 68.8 77.7
2013 49,596 0 5,109 9,990 261 34,193 43 68.9 77.0
2014 48,057 0 4,620 9,683 266 33,451 37 69.6 77.1
2015 45,845 0 4,464 8,881 289 32,174 37 70.2 77.8
2016 43,054 0 4,110 8,236 249 30,417 42 70.6 78.2
2017 41,000 0 3,839 7,804 284 29,042 31 70.8 78.2
2018 39,451 33 3,936 7,802 322 27,316 42 69.3 77.1
2019 39,429 33 4,429 9,414 440 25,044 69 63.6 71.8
2020 36,216 54 3,970 8,747 624 22,758 63 62.9 70.9
2021 35,302 69 4,038 8,517 630 21,977 71 62.4 70.7
2022 32,810 473 4,069 7,616 689 19,878 85 61.5 70.6
2023 29,420 1,575 4,355 6,000 648 16,785 57 60.3 71.7
2024 23,582 1,509 4,039 4,054 494 13,451 35 60.9 74.8
  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 33,835 87 54,895 39 59.7 61.8
2008 99,363 0 3,268 35,425 100 60,524 46 60.9 63.0
2009 113,925 0 3,435 43,251 105 67,079 55 58.9 60.8
2010 124,553 0 6,936 47,520 519 69,534 44 55.8 59.2
2011 124,101 0 7,363 46,927 420 69,360 31 55.9 59.4
2012 128,362 0 9,562 46,466 848 71,417 69 55.6 60.2
2013 120,777 0 7,722 43,347 699 68,955 54 57.1 61.0
2014 115,593 0 7,480 39,562 779 67,728 44 58.6 62.7
2015 118,464 0 7,246 37,624 760 72,773 61 61.4 65.5
2016 111,475 0 6,890 34,649 739 69,127 70 62.0 66.2
2017 111,725 0 6,782 33,747 726 70,407 63 63.0 67.2
2018 118,497 112 7,829 34,917 825 74,728 86 63.1 67.7
2019 115,465 103 8,286 39,159 973 66,809 135 57.9 62.5
2020 96,755 142 6,908 33,031 969 55,601 104 57.6 62.1
2021 91,828 249 6,912 29,604 957 54,003 103 59.0 63.9
2022 97,879 1,284 7,352 29,263 978 58,898 104 61.0 66.1
2023 109,867 4,005 9,521 29,604 1,153 65,445 139 61.8 68.1
2024 109,381 4,466 12,825 24,301 790 66,874 125 63.7 72.8
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research File, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2025 for the initial and reconsideration levels and through July 2025 for the hearing level or above.
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: statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 61. Medical decisions at the initial adjudicative level, by year of application and program, 1992–2024
Year All decisions Decisions on applications for Social Security only Decisions on applications for both Social Security and SSI
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 1,564,868 583,058 37.3 757,294 377,352 49.8 807,574 205,706 25.5
2008 1,641,539 635,422 38.7 783,521 408,893 52.2 858,018 226,529 26.4
2009 1,907,857 734,410 38.5 922,365 480,888 52.1 985,492 253,522 25.7
2010 2,003,031 739,092 36.9 991,011 496,238 50.1 1,012,020 242,854 24.0
2011 1,970,235 703,312 35.7 988,039 478,747 48.5 982,196 224,565 22.9
2012 1,931,564 689,229 35.7 989,723 474,891 48.0 941,841 214,338 22.8
2013 1,819,732 643,402 35.4 966,567 450,234 46.6 853,165 193,168 22.6
2014 1,750,650 615,913 35.2 981,629 442,014 45.0 769,021 173,899 22.6
2015 1,643,545 583,185 35.5 941,447 424,195 45.1 702,098 158,990 22.6
2016 1,554,565 557,856 35.9 904,483 407,920 45.1 650,082 149,936 23.1
2017 1,472,259 538,885 36.6 855,383 393,819 46.0 616,876 145,066 23.5
2018 1,415,376 524,224 37.0 830,975 382,494 46.0 584,401 141,730 24.3
2019 1,408,623 515,058 36.6 810,396 367,838 45.4 598,227 147,220 24.6
2020 1,297,346 466,115 35.9 787,538 343,440 43.6 509,808 122,675 24.1
2021 1,271,813 459,815 36.2 796,090 341,375 42.9 475,723 118,440 24.9
2022 1,260,108 452,155 35.9 780,496 333,785 42.8 479,612 118,370 24.7
2023 1,281,920 461,173 36.0 783,428 340,790 43.5 498,492 120,383 24.1
2024 1,105,785 413,238 37.4 694,682 316,002 45.5 411,103 97,236 23.7
  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 1,437,440 505,946 35.2 676,179 314,355 46.5 761,261 191,591 25.2
2008 1,505,630 552,705 36.7 697,893 340,958 48.9 807,737 211,747 26.2
2009 1,755,858 644,692 36.7 830,777 407,867 49.1 925,081 236,825 25.6
2010 1,841,372 645,070 35.0 894,519 419,068 46.8 946,853 226,002 23.9
2011 1,809,962 610,298 33.7 890,729 401,279 45.1 919,233 209,019 22.7
2012 1,767,240 592,522 33.5 887,359 393,415 44.3 879,881 199,107 22.6
2013 1,662,181 549,540 33.1 867,271 370,747 42.7 794,910 178,793 22.5
2014 1,599,089 523,276 32.7 883,031 362,952 41.1 716,058 160,324 22.4
2015 1,490,938 486,165 32.6 838,850 340,416 40.6 652,088 145,749 22.4
2016 1,411,029 465,781 33.0 806,819 328,503 40.7 604,210 137,278 22.7
2017 1,330,146 446,449 33.6 756,810 313,463 41.4 573,336 132,986 23.2
2018 1,269,180 429,571 33.8 727,015 300,282 41.3 542,165 129,289 23.8
2019 1,266,431 431,556 34.1 709,938 296,861 41.8 556,493 134,695 24.2
2020 1,175,238 394,826 33.6 698,914 281,887 40.3 476,324 112,939 23.7
2021 1,155,614 390,492 33.8 711,127 281,769 39.6 444,487 108,723 24.5
2022 1,140,830 379,698 33.3 694,397 271,904 39.2 446,433 107,794 24.1
2023 1,156,648 382,754 33.1 694,792 273,862 39.4 461,856 108,892 23.6
2024 990,087 333,802 33.7 608,000 245,295 40.3 382,087 88,507 23.2
  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 26,777 67.3 28,194 22,185 78.7 11,617 4,592 39.5
2009 41,508 27,815 67.0 28,929 22,797 78.8 12,579 5,018 39.9
2010 44,040 29,501 67.0 30,599 24,203 79.1 13,441 5,298 39.4
2011 43,532 28,700 65.9 30,393 23,803 78.3 13,139 4,897 37.3
2012 45,517 30,477 67.0 32,409 25,662 79.2 13,108 4,815 36.7
2013 44,490 29,538 66.4 31,760 25,014 78.8 12,730 4,524 35.5
2014 43,441 28,997 66.8 31,412 24,794 78.9 12,029 4,203 34.9
2015 41,383 28,186 68.1 30,288 24,240 80.0 11,095 3,946 35.6
2016 38,946 26,718 68.6 28,743 23,041 80.2 10,203 3,677 36.0
2017 37,162 25,750 69.3 27,680 22,374 80.8 9,482 3,376 35.6
2018 35,519 23,968 67.5 26,524 20,703 78.1 8,995 3,265 36.3
2019 35,003 21,162 60.5 26,018 17,796 68.4 8,985 3,366 37.5
2020 32,252 19,311 59.9 24,291 16,353 67.3 7,961 2,958 37.2
2021 31,267 18,846 60.3 23,886 16,059 67.2 7,381 2,787 37.8
2022 28,745 17,054 59.3 21,442 14,294 66.7 7,303 2,760 37.8
2023 25,035 15,226 60.8 17,847 12,364 69.3 7,188 2,862 39.8
2024 19,469 13,124 67.4 14,481 11,130 76.9 4,988 1,994 40.0
  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 51,566 58.0 53,529 41,816 78.1 35,329 9,750 27.6
2008 96,098 55,940 58.2 57,434 45,750 79.7 38,664 10,190 26.4
2009 110,491 61,903 56.0 62,659 50,224 80.2 47,832 11,679 24.4
2010 117,619 64,521 54.9 65,893 52,967 80.4 51,726 11,554 22.3
2011 116,741 64,314 55.1 66,917 53,665 80.2 49,824 10,649 21.4
2012 118,807 66,230 55.7 69,955 55,814 79.8 48,852 10,416 21.3
2013 113,061 64,324 56.9 67,536 54,473 80.7 45,525 9,851 21.6
2014 108,120 63,640 58.9 67,186 54,268 80.8 40,934 9,372 22.9
2015 111,224 68,834 61.9 72,309 59,539 82.3 38,915 9,295 23.9
2016 104,590 65,357 62.5 68,921 56,376 81.8 35,669 8,981 25.2
2017 104,951 66,686 63.5 70,893 57,982 81.8 34,058 8,704 25.6
2018 110,677 70,685 63.9 77,436 61,509 79.4 33,241 9,176 27.6
2019 107,189 62,340 58.2 74,440 53,181 71.4 32,749 9,159 28.0
2020 89,856 51,978 57.8 64,333 45,200 70.3 25,523 6,778 26.6
2021 84,932 50,477 59.4 61,077 43,547 71.3 23,855 6,930 29.1
2022 90,533 55,403 61.2 64,657 47,587 73.6 25,876 7,816 30.2
2023 100,237 63,193 63.0 70,789 54,564 77.1 29,448 8,629 29.3
2024 96,229 66,312 68.9 72,201 59,577 82.5 24,028 6,735 28.0
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research File, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2025.
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: statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 62. Medical decisions at the reconsideration level, by year of application and program, 1992–2024
Year All decisions Decisions on applications for Social Security only Decisions on applications for both Social Security and SSI
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 519,254 57,038 11.0 224,454 29,822 13.3 294,800 27,216 9.2
2008 546,426 59,255 10.8 222,900 29,954 13.4 323,526 29,301 9.1
2009 644,224 64,080 9.9 264,493 33,212 12.6 379,731 30,868 8.1
2010 706,098 63,198 9.0 299,847 34,300 11.4 406,251 28,898 7.1
2011 724,461 65,171 9.0 314,358 36,364 11.6 410,103 28,807 7.0
2012 714,132 62,482 8.7 316,739 34,918 11.0 397,393 27,564 6.9
2013 682,342 56,588 8.3 316,232 32,174 10.2 366,110 24,414 6.7
2014 644,204 56,315 8.7 316,538 33,518 10.6 327,666 22,797 7.0
2015 572,132 54,508 9.5 291,104 32,975 11.3 281,028 21,533 7.7
2016 530,760 52,100 9.8 275,134 32,110 11.7 255,626 19,990 7.8
2017 485,861 48,588 10.0 250,604 30,094 12.0 235,257 18,494 7.9
2018 463,951 50,278 10.8 240,873 31,360 13.0 223,078 18,918 8.5
2019 460,039 61,154 13.3 237,697 38,202 16.1 222,342 22,952 10.3
2020 423,360 55,232 13.0 233,616 35,535 15.2 189,744 19,697 10.4
2021 416,350 60,516 14.5 236,916 39,765 16.8 179,434 20,751 11.6
2022 411,825 58,894 14.3 228,465 37,936 16.6 183,360 20,958 11.4
2023 307,012 46,453 15.1 171,379 30,471 17.8 135,633 15,982 11.8
2024 150,137 19,176 12.8 87,581 13,106 15.0 62,556 6,070 9.7
  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 503,473 54,434 10.8 218,683 28,950 13.2 284,790 25,484 8.9
2008 527,774 56,838 10.8 216,971 29,111 13.4 310,803 27,727 8.9
2009 621,676 61,281 9.9 258,019 32,309 12.5 363,657 28,972 8.0
2010 681,806 60,435 8.9 293,218 33,392 11.4 388,588 27,043 7.0
2011 699,642 62,356 8.9 307,208 35,405 11.5 392,434 26,951 6.9
2012 688,205 59,760 8.7 309,055 33,982 11.0 379,150 25,778 6.8
2013 657,786 54,156 8.2 309,024 31,345 10.1 348,762 22,811 6.5
2014 621,979 53,977 8.7 309,650 32,721 10.6 312,329 21,256 6.8
2015 551,894 52,132 9.4 284,649 32,140 11.3 267,245 19,992 7.5
2016 512,176 49,904 9.7 268,960 31,318 11.6 243,216 18,586 7.6
2017 468,120 46,406 9.9 244,631 29,238 12.0 223,489 17,168 7.7
2018 445,972 47,748 10.7 234,053 30,171 12.9 211,919 17,577 8.3
2019 440,252 57,626 13.1 228,909 36,098 15.8 211,343 21,528 10.2
2020 406,824 52,454 12.9 226,058 33,944 15.0 180,766 18,510 10.2
2021 401,202 57,734 14.4 229,788 38,154 16.6 171,414 19,580 11.4
2022 396,228 55,889 14.1 221,812 36,286 16.4 174,416 19,603 11.2
2023 295,101 44,133 15.0 166,585 29,178 17.5 128,516 14,955 11.6
2024 145,040 18,347 12.6 85,528 12,657 14.8 59,512 5,690 9.6
  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 1,144 19.2 2,887 462 16.0 3,061 682 22.3
2008 6,347 921 14.5 2,858 391 13.7 3,489 530 15.2
2009 6,988 1,077 15.4 3,044 446 14.7 3,944 631 16.0
2010 7,359 1,055 14.3 3,073 461 15.0 4,286 594 13.9
2011 7,861 1,133 14.4 3,373 505 15.0 4,488 628 14.0
2012 8,147 1,116 13.7 3,546 480 13.5 4,601 636 13.8
2013 8,101 1,029 12.7 3,485 457 13.1 4,616 572 12.4
2014 7,833 1,012 12.9 3,420 456 13.3 4,413 556 12.6
2015 6,923 981 14.2 3,032 424 14.0 3,891 557 14.3
2016 6,361 840 13.2 2,817 392 13.9 3,544 448 12.6
2017 5,761 803 13.9 2,548 396 15.5 3,213 407 12.7
2018 5,839 943 16.2 2,699 476 17.6 3,140 467 14.9
2019 6,486 1,483 22.9 3,423 912 26.6 3,063 571 18.6
2020 5,937 1,244 21.0 3,113 717 23.0 2,824 527 18.7
2021 5,418 1,258 23.2 2,984 769 25.8 2,434 489 20.1
2022 5,201 1,288 24.8 2,710 735 27.1 2,491 553 22.2
2023 3,390 905 26.7 1,722 506 29.4 1,668 399 23.9
2024 1,213 258 21.3 588 133 22.6 625 125 20.0
  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 1,460 14.8 2,884 410 14.2 6,949 1,050 15.1
2008 12,305 1,496 12.2 3,071 452 14.7 9,234 1,044 11.3
2009 15,560 1,722 11.1 3,430 457 13.3 12,130 1,265 10.4
2010 16,933 1,708 10.1 3,556 447 12.6 13,377 1,261 9.4
2011 16,958 1,682 9.9 3,777 454 12.0 13,181 1,228 9.3
2012 17,780 1,606 9.0 4,138 456 11.0 13,642 1,150 8.4
2013 16,455 1,403 8.5 3,723 372 10.0 12,732 1,031 8.1
2014 14,392 1,326 9.2 3,468 341 9.8 10,924 985 9.0
2015 13,315 1,395 10.5 3,423 411 12.0 9,892 984 9.9
2016 12,223 1,356 11.1 3,357 400 11.9 8,866 956 10.8
2017 11,980 1,379 11.5 3,425 460 13.4 8,555 919 10.7
2018 12,140 1,587 13.1 4,121 713 17.3 8,019 874 10.9
2019 13,301 2,045 15.4 5,365 1,192 22.2 7,936 853 10.7
2020 10,599 1,534 14.5 4,445 874 19.7 6,154 660 10.7
2021 9,730 1,524 15.7 4,144 842 20.3 5,586 682 12.2
2022 10,396 1,717 16.5 3,943 915 23.2 6,453 802 12.4
2023 8,521 1,415 16.6 3,072 787 25.6 5,449 628 11.5
2024 3,884 571 14.7 1,465 316 21.6 2,419 255 10.5
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research File, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2025.
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.
From 1999 through 2020, a prototype process in 10 states (representing 20–25 percent of national disability claims) allowed initial denials to be appealed directly to the hearing level without 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: statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 63. Medical decisions at the hearing level or above, by year of application and program, 1992–2024
Year All decisions Decisions on applications for Social Security only Decisions on applications for both Social Security and SSI
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 387,412 274,991 71.0 169,876 136,134 80.1 217,536 138,857 63.8
2008 405,203 277,034 68.4 167,464 131,704 78.6 237,739 145,330 61.1
2009 482,363 309,138 64.1 200,296 150,200 75.0 282,067 158,938 56.3
2010 537,453 320,098 59.6 230,396 162,719 70.6 307,057 157,379 51.3
2011 554,186 308,178 55.6 241,140 160,277 66.5 313,046 147,901 47.2
2012 554,402 288,643 52.1 246,172 154,369 62.7 308,230 134,274 43.6
2013 538,196 267,689 49.7 250,224 148,293 59.3 287,972 119,396 41.5
2014 501,597 247,805 49.4 246,940 142,329 57.6 254,657 105,476 41.4
2015 436,002 217,679 49.9 222,693 129,064 58.0 213,309 88,615 41.5
2016 399,492 199,125 49.8 207,341 119,994 57.9 192,151 79,131 41.2
2017 360,013 178,771 49.7 185,768 107,733 58.0 174,245 71,038 40.8
2018 333,819 168,983 50.6 172,828 101,795 58.9 160,991 67,188 41.7
2019 310,302 161,373 52.0 159,994 96,672 60.4 150,308 64,701 43.0
2020 283,772 150,418 53.0 156,892 95,164 60.7 126,880 55,254 43.5
2021 257,535 144,562 56.1 148,069 94,251 63.7 109,466 50,311 46.0
2022 208,043 120,690 58.0 119,434 78,893 66.1 88,609 41,797 47.2
2023 103,164 60,367 58.5 61,630 40,781 66.2 41,534 19,586 47.2
2024 13,600 6,901 50.7 8,897 5,114 57.5 4,703 1,787 38.0
  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 379,554 270,206 71.2 166,457 133,740 80.3 213,097 136,466 64.0
2008 393,931 270,440 68.7 163,640 128,949 78.8 230,291 141,491 61.4
2009 468,958 301,999 64.4 196,271 147,402 75.1 272,687 154,597 56.7
2010 523,027 313,054 59.9 226,172 159,933 70.7 296,855 153,121 51.6
2011 539,145 300,993 55.8 236,507 157,301 66.5 302,638 143,692 47.5
2012 537,777 281,216 52.3 241,101 151,289 62.7 296,676 129,927 43.8
2013 522,051 260,738 49.9 245,295 145,417 59.3 276,756 115,321 41.7
2014 487,476 241,520 49.5 242,318 139,633 57.6 245,158 101,887 41.6
2015 423,453 212,030 50.1 218,496 126,603 57.9 204,957 85,427 41.7
2016 387,991 193,740 49.9 203,368 117,637 57.8 184,623 76,103 41.2
2017 349,232 173,846 49.8 182,012 105,531 58.0 167,220 68,315 40.9
2018 323,508 163,994 50.7 168,940 99,466 58.9 154,568 64,528 41.7
2019 300,356 156,346 52.1 155,955 94,140 60.4 144,401 62,206 43.1
2020 275,303 145,959 53.0 153,325 92,875 60.6 121,978 53,084 43.5
2021 250,315 140,513 56.1 144,872 92,096 63.6 105,443 48,417 45.9
2022 202,067 117,187 58.0 116,861 77,036 65.9 85,206 40,151 47.1
2023 100,322 58,680 58.5 60,419 39,886 66.0 39,903 18,794 47.1
2024 13,235 6,681 50.5 8,704 4,970 57.1 4,531 1,711 37.8
  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 4,404 3,460 78.6 2,056 1,709 83.1 2,348 1,751 74.6
2009 4,775 3,630 76.0 2,126 1,742 81.9 2,649 1,888 71.3
2010 5,178 3,695 71.4 2,193 1,703 77.7 2,985 1,992 66.7
2011 5,439 3,790 69.7 2,379 1,776 74.7 3,060 2,014 65.8
2012 5,823 3,777 64.9 2,554 1,818 71.2 3,269 1,959 59.9
2013 5,958 3,669 61.6 2,559 1,748 68.3 3,399 1,921 56.5
2014 5,698 3,479 61.1 2,482 1,654 66.6 3,216 1,825 56.7
2015 4,919 3,044 61.9 2,169 1,477 68.1 2,750 1,567 57.0
2016 4,553 2,901 63.7 2,007 1,387 69.1 2,546 1,514 59.5
2017 4,108 2,520 61.3 1,793 1,199 66.9 2,315 1,321 57.1
2018 3,887 2,447 63.0 1,741 1,217 69.9 2,146 1,230 57.3
2019 3,769 2,468 65.5 1,843 1,295 70.3 1,926 1,173 60.9
2020 3,511 2,266 64.5 1,706 1,195 70.0 1,805 1,071 59.3
2021 2,917 1,944 66.6 1,515 1,101 72.7 1,402 843 60.1
2022 2,321 1,621 69.8 1,227 965 78.6 1,094 656 60.0
2023 1,028 711 69.2 539 417 77.4 489 294 60.1
2024 141 104 73.8 89 71 79.8 52 33 63.5
  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 6,868 3,134 45.6 1,768 1,046 59.2 5,100 2,088 40.9
2009 8,630 3,509 40.7 1,899 1,056 55.6 6,731 2,453 36.4
2010 9,248 3,349 36.2 2,031 1,083 53.3 7,217 2,266 31.4
2011 9,602 3,395 35.4 2,254 1,200 53.2 7,348 2,195 29.9
2012 10,802 3,650 33.8 2,517 1,262 50.1 8,285 2,388 28.8
2013 10,187 3,282 32.2 2,370 1,128 47.6 7,817 2,154 27.6
2014 8,423 2,806 33.3 2,140 1,042 48.7 6,283 1,764 28.1
2015 7,630 2,605 34.1 2,028 984 48.5 5,602 1,621 28.9
2016 6,948 2,484 35.8 1,966 970 49.3 4,982 1,514 30.4
2017 6,673 2,405 36.0 1,963 1,003 51.1 4,710 1,402 29.8
2018 6,424 2,542 39.6 2,147 1,112 51.8 4,277 1,430 33.4
2019 6,177 2,559 41.4 2,196 1,237 56.3 3,981 1,322 33.2
2020 4,958 2,193 44.2 1,861 1,094 58.8 3,097 1,099 35.5
2021 4,303 2,105 48.9 1,682 1,054 62.7 2,621 1,051 40.1
2022 3,655 1,882 51.5 1,346 892 66.3 2,309 990 42.9
2023 1,814 976 53.8 672 478 71.1 1,142 498 43.6
2024 224 116 51.8 104 73 70.2 120 43 35.8
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research File, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through July 2025.
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.
From 1999 through 2020, a prototype process in 10 states (representing 20–25 percent of national disability claims) allowed initial denials to be appealed directly to the hearing level without 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: statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 64. Number and percentage distribution of final medical allowances, by year of application and reason for allowance, 1992–2024
Year Total Meets level of severity of listings Equals level of severity of listings Medical and vocational factors considered Other a
Number Percent
  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 913,269 100.0 26.1 4.6 32.7 36.6
2008 969,935 100.0 25.5 5.2 34.1 35.2
2009 1,105,781 100.0 24.3 5.2 35.7 34.8
2010 1,120,313 100.0 23.1 5.1 36.2 35.6
2011 1,074,600 100.0 22.4 5.0 37.5 35.0
2012 1,038,076 100.0 22.1 5.0 38.1 34.8
2013 965,434 100.0 22.4 4.7 37.1 35.8
2014 917,751 100.0 23.1 4.6 36.7 35.7
2015 853,073 100.0 24.3 4.4 36.0 35.2
2016 807,101 100.0 26.0 4.4 35.3 34.3
2017 764,311 100.0 27.5 4.4 34.5 33.6
2018 741,414 100.0 29.4 4.4 34.4 31.7
2019 735,710 100.0 33.1 4.4 37.4 25.1
2020 670,200 100.0 32.2 4.1 37.5 26.1
2021 663,421 100.0 32.0 3.6 37.6 26.9
2022 630,193 100.0 33.6 3.4 38.4 24.6
2023 566,389 100.0 36.7 3.2 41.5 18.7
2024 438,079 100.0 38.9 2.8 42.0 16.3
  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 828,834 100.0 26.5 4.9 34.6 34.0
2008 878,274 100.0 26.0 5.5 36.2 32.3
2009 1,006,200 100.0 24.8 5.5 37.8 31.9
2010 1,016,551 100.0 23.6 5.4 38.5 32.5
2011 971,651 100.0 22.9 5.3 40.1 31.7
2012 931,342 100.0 22.7 5.3 41.0 31.0
2013 862,286 100.0 23.2 5.1 40.1 31.7
2014 816,572 100.0 24.0 4.9 39.8 31.3
2015 748,126 100.0 25.5 4.8 39.6 30.0
2016 707,557 100.0 27.3 4.8 38.8 29.1
2017 664,862 100.0 28.9 4.8 38.1 28.2
2018 639,370 100.0 29.9 4.8 38.1 27.2
2019 643,857 100.0 30.8 4.6 39.6 25.0
2020 591,841 100.0 30.3 4.2 39.7 25.8
2021 587,441 100.0 30.5 3.7 40.3 25.5
2022 551,417 100.0 32.3 3.5 41.7 22.4
2023 484,159 100.0 36.0 3.4 46.3 14.3
2024 357,754 100.0 42.0 3.2 49.7 5.2
  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 30,780 100.0 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 29,540 100.0 9.1 1.6 24.3 64.9
2008 31,137 100.0 8.7 1.7 24.8 64.7
2009 32,502 100.0 8.1 1.9 26.0 63.9
2010 34,228 100.0 7.7 1.9 25.3 65.1
2011 33,589 100.0 7.8 1.7 25.3 65.3
2012 35,317 100.0 6.8 1.6 24.2 67.4
2013 34,193 100.0 6.2 1.6 23.0 69.2
2014 33,451 100.0 6.3 1.5 21.7 70.6
2015 32,174 100.0 6.6 1.3 21.2 70.9
2016 30,417 100.0 6.5 1.2 20.4 71.9
2017 29,042 100.0 7.0 1.2 20.2 71.6
2018 27,316 100.0 8.4 1.4 23.9 66.3
2019 25,044 100.0 16.0 2.8 49.7 31.4
2020 22,758 100.0 14.6 2.4 46.1 36.9
2021 21,977 100.0 13.3 1.6 37.5 47.6
2022 19,878 100.0 12.7 1.6 38.8 46.9
2023 16,785 100.0 12.4 1.4 39.2 46.9
2024 13,451 100.0 9.2 0.7 28.8 61.3
  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 46,812 100.0 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 54,895 100.0 28.3 2.6 9.0 60.1
2008 60,524 100.0 26.6 2.5 8.6 62.3
2009 67,079 100.0 24.8 2.5 8.8 63.9
2010 69,534 100.0 23.2 2.3 8.3 66.1
2011 69,360 100.0 21.9 2.3 7.9 67.9
2012 71,417 100.0 21.4 2.2 7.3 69.0
2013 68,955 100.0 21.0 2.0 7.0 70.0
2014 67,728 100.0 20.7 1.9 6.6 70.9
2015 72,773 100.0 19.7 1.7 5.9 72.7
2016 69,127 100.0 21.7 1.7 5.7 71.0
2017 70,407 100.0 23.0 1.8 5.5 69.7
2018 74,728 100.0 33.2 2.3 6.6 58.0
2019 66,809 100.0 61.3 3.9 12.0 22.9
2020 55,601 100.0 60.4 3.7 10.4 25.6
2021 54,003 100.0 55.5 2.9 7.9 33.7
2022 58,898 100.0 52.7 2.5 6.8 38.0
2023 65,445 100.0 48.0 2.0 5.9 44.1
2024 66,874 100.0 28.5 1.0 3.6 67.0
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research File, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2025 for the initial and reconsideration levels and through July 2025 for the hearing level or above.
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 applications.
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: statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 65. Number and percentage distribution of final medical denials, by year of application and reason for denial, 1992–2024
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
Number Percent
  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 649,725 100.0 6.3 20.4 26.3 30.9 16.0
2008 669,785 100.0 5.8 21.4 26.0 31.3 15.5
2009 800,192 100.0 4.6 22.5 25.4 32.3 15.1
2010 880,600 100.0 4.1 23.3 24.7 32.3 15.5
2011 893,521 100.0 3.9 23.8 20.4 33.6 18.3
2012 891,123 100.0 3.8 24.7 16.2 39.0 16.3
2013 851,974 100.0 4.0 24.9 15.1 42.4 13.5
2014 830,534 100.0 3.9 24.7 13.8 42.7 14.8
2015 788,079 100.0 4.1 24.3 11.7 43.1 16.8
2016 745,399 100.0 4.2 23.7 10.2 43.7 18.3
2017 705,907 100.0 4.2 23.9 9.1 43.8 19.0
2018 669,214 100.0 3.9 24.8 8.6 42.7 20.0
2019 668,427 100.0 3.6 24.5 8.2 43.7 20.0
2020 621,319 100.0 3.2 22.4 8.0 42.7 23.6
2021 596,584 100.0 2.3 20.9 7.4 39.7 29.7
2022 579,699 100.0 1.5 21.4 6.6 35.8 34.6
2023 539,436 100.0 1.2 21.3 5.4 34.1 38.0
2024 466,720 100.0 1.5 20.0 5.2 35.4 37.9
  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 606,800 100.0 6.6 20.1 27.7 30.0 15.6
2008 625,607 100.0 6.1 21.1 27.4 30.3 15.1
2009 747,850 100.0 4.9 22.3 26.8 31.2 14.7
2010 822,772 100.0 4.3 23.2 26.1 31.2 15.2
2011 836,265 100.0 4.1 23.6 21.4 32.6 18.2
2012 833,666 100.0 4.0 24.5 17.0 38.4 16.1
2013 797,677 100.0 4.2 24.7 15.9 42.0 13.2
2014 780,244 100.0 4.1 24.5 14.4 42.4 14.6
2015 740,525 100.0 4.3 24.0 12.2 42.9 16.6
2016 701,526 100.0 4.4 23.4 10.6 43.5 18.1
2017 663,346 100.0 4.4 23.5 9.5 43.7 18.9
2018 625,348 100.0 4.1 24.2 9.0 42.8 19.9
2019 618,441 100.0 3.8 23.6 8.6 44.0 19.9
2020 577,948 100.0 3.4 21.5 8.4 43.1 23.6
2021 556,876 100.0 2.4 19.9 7.8 40.0 29.9
2022 541,153 100.0 1.6 20.4 6.9 36.0 35.1
2023 502,031 100.0 1.3 20.1 5.7 34.2 38.7
2024 437,081 100.0 1.6 18.9 5.5 35.5 38.6
  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 9,003 100.0 3.6 27.3 31.3 21.9 15.9
2008 8,653 100.0 3.3 27.8 30.8 21.9 16.2
2009 8,986 100.0 2.8 28.8 30.2 22.2 16.0
2010 9,789 100.0 2.7 29.3 27.9 24.0 16.0
2011 9,909 100.0 2.9 28.1 26.9 24.9 17.2
2012 10,143 100.0 2.3 28.8 23.4 28.4 17.0
2013 10,251 100.0 2.4 28.6 22.2 32.6 14.3
2014 9,949 100.0 2.3 27.5 21.4 33.1 15.6
2015 9,170 100.0 2.3 26.2 20.6 33.6 17.3
2016 8,485 100.0 2.3 26.1 17.3 35.1 19.2
2017 8,088 100.0 2.1 25.9 17.5 34.1 20.5
2018 8,124 100.0 2.1 26.8 15.0 33.9 22.2
2019 9,854 100.0 1.5 28.4 13.8 33.4 22.8
2020 9,371 100.0 1.5 24.6 13.5 33.0 27.4
2021 9,147 100.0 1.0 23.2 12.3 31.2 32.3
2022 8,305 100.0 0.7 23.7 10.2 27.4 38.1
2023 6,648 100.0 0.4 23.6 8.0 25.9 42.1
2024 4,548 100.0 0.9 22.1 6.6 26.0 44.4
  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 33,922 100.0 1.6 24.0 0.3 49.9 24.2
2008 35,525 100.0 1.5 24.8 0.2 51.0 22.5
2009 43,356 100.0 1.2 23.4 0.1 53.5 21.8
2010 48,039 100.0 1.2 24.7 0.1 53.1 20.9
2011 47,347 100.0 1.0 26.2 (L) 52.6 20.1
2012 47,314 100.0 0.9 27.7 (L) 51.9 19.4
2013 44,046 100.0 0.9 28.1 (L) 52.2 18.8
2014 40,341 100.0 0.9 29.4 0.0 50.5 19.1
2015 38,384 100.0 0.8 30.0 (L) 49.5 19.7
2016 35,388 100.0 0.8 29.4 (L) 49.1 20.7
2017 34,473 100.0 0.8 31.2 (L) 47.6 20.4
2018 35,742 100.0 0.6 35.4 (L) 43.0 21.0
2019 40,132 100.0 0.5 37.6 0.0 41.5 20.4
2020 34,000 100.0 0.5 36.8 0.0 39.9 22.8
2021 30,561 100.0 0.4 37.3 0.0 37.4 24.9
2022 30,241 100.0 0.2 39.9 0.0 34.7 25.2
2023 30,757 100.0 0.1 39.7 0.0 34.6 25.6
2024 25,091 100.0 0.2 40.2 0.0 35.0 24.7
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Disability Research File, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are current through June 2025 for the initial and reconsideration levels and through July 2025 for the hearing level or above.
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 applications.
Data from 1992 through 1998 are available for disabled workers only.
(L) = less than 0.05 percent.
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: statistics@ssa.gov.