Social Security Disability Claims: Why does it take so long?

The most common question I receive from existing clients concerns the enormous time it takes for a hearing to be scheduled. Throughout the country, time waits often exceed two years from the point of appeal to the scheduled hearing.  And this disability claims backlog continues to grow. In July of 2007, it reached an all-time high of 749,224 pending cases.  

This growing backlog is starting to receive national attention. On July 30, 2007, USA Today featured a front-page story on this issue. An additional story about the impact of this backlog on individual claimants was also featured. Many local newspapers, including my local paper in Detroit, ran similar articles.  

So is Congress doing anything about this issue? On June 21, 2007, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the recommendation of the Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies, which provided $125 million over the President’s request for fiscal year 2008, which begins October 1, 2007. Additionally, the Committee report requests the SSA Commissioner to submit a letter report by August 24, 2007, detailing his current and planned initiatives to improve the disability claims process.  

This increase in funding could help the backlog situation by allowing additional employees to be hired by Social Security. The proposed amount would allow the hiring of about 1,000 new employees. Is this enough? Some argue it is not because Social Security staffing has dropped by 4,000 employees over the last three years. But the 1,000 new hires would be a step in the right direction.  

Which areas of the country are the most backlogged?  According to a recent National Ranking Report of the country’s hearing offices, the bottom five offices in terms of total processing time are the two Atlanta, GA offices, Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN, and San Francisco, CA.    

Article provided by attorney Gary Bimberg. Mr. Bimberg exclusively handles Social Security disability claims across the United States. He is happy to answer your questions at 1-800-675-0613 or gbimberg@levinebenjamin.com.