Annual Statistical Supplement, 2018

Program Provisions and SSA Administrative Data

SSA Administrative Data

Hearings and Appeals

Table 2.F8 Workload of SSA's Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), fiscal years 2014–2017
Item 2014 2015 2016 a 2017
Number of ALJs 1,311 1,265 1,340 1,430
Average monthly hearing dispositions per ALJ b 43 44 40 40
Average hearings pending per ALJ 688 708 723 661
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings Operations. Actual data from Case Processing Management System (CPMS) Management Information.
NOTE: Number of ALJs and average monthly hearing dispositions per ALJ based on fiscal year average ALJ availability; average hearings pending per ALJ based on ALJs on duty. Data exclude Regional Chief ALJs.
a. Because of calendar variations and agency budgeting and accounting rules, one week occasionally falls between the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of the next. Although September 2016 included such a week, data for that week are not available. Values shown are as of the end of the 52nd week of fiscal year 2016.
b. Calculation excludes Attorney Adjudicator decisions.
CONTACT: Chuck Gramens (703) 605-8413 or statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 2.F9 Number of hearing level receipts, dispositions, and end-of-year pending cases, fiscal years 2015–2017
Program Hearing level receipts Hearing level dispositions End-of-year pending cases
2015 2016 2017 2015 2016 2017 2015 2016 2017
Total 746,300 712,853 620,164 663,129 652,241 685,657 1,060,907 1,121,519 1,056,026
OASI 1,632 1,342 1,269 1,575 1,392 1,228 1,530 1,481 1,525
Disability  
DI 265,638 255,434 224,385 216,541 223,434 244,708 371,793 402,498 381,411
SSI 210,565 209,312 185,603 190,020 185,281 195,747 303,889 327,670 317,409
DI and SSI 268,465 246,765 208,907 254,993 242,134 243,974 383,695 389,870 355,681
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings Operations. Actual data from Case Processing Management System (CPMS) Management Information.
NOTES: Some claims are resclassifed from one program to another during their processing cycle. End-of-year adjustments account for those reclassifications.
Because of calendar variations and agency budgeting and accounting rules, one week occasionally falls between the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of the next. September 2016 included such a week, and the values shown for fiscal year 2016 include the activity for that week, as follows: for OASI, 31 receipts, 30 dispositions, and 1 additional pending case; for DI, 5,285 receipts, 5,118 dispositions and a reduction of 58 pending cases; for SSI, 4,314 receipts, 4,211 dispositions, and 53 additional pending cases; and for both DI and SSI, 4,644 receipts, 5,410 dispositions, and a reduction of 491 pending cases. In total, that week saw 14,274 receipts, 14,769 dispositions, and a reduction of 495 pending cases. Reclassifications (noted above) account for apparent discrepancies.
OASI = Old-Age and Survivors Insurance; DI = Disability Insurance; SSI = Supplemental Security Income.
CONTACT: Chuck Gramens (703) 605-8413 or statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 2.F11 Number of SSA Appeals Council cases, fiscal years 2014–2017
Cases 2014 2015 2016 a 2017
Beginning-of-year pending 157,311 150,383 149,147 127,134
Receipts 155,352 149,437 136,987 128,113
Dispositions 162,280 150,673 159,000 160,776
End-of-year pending 150,383 149,147 127,134 94,471
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Hearings Operations. Actual data from the Appeals Review Processing System (ARPS) Management Information.
a. Because of calendar variations and agency budgeting and accounting rules, one week occasionally falls between the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of the next. September 2016 included such a week, and the values shown for fiscal year 2016 include the 3,147 receipts and 4,598 dispositions (and the resulting reduction in pending cases by 1,451) that occurred in that week.
CONTACT: Chuck Gramens (703) 605-8413 or statistics@ssa.gov.