Disability Benefits: Easy?

Several claimants at a hearing office today were commenting how easy it was to get Social Security disability benefits. They had mentioned that they each knew of several friends and family members that were able to win disability benefits right away.

For those of you who share their opinion, I would like to share some statistics published annually by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The statistics can be found here.

Below are some of the approval rates at the beginning levels of the Social Security disability process:

1) In 2009, there were 963,484 total Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) decisions made at the application level. 244,524 of the claims were approved. This means that in 2009 the Administration approved approximately 25% of applications.

2) At the reconsideration level in 2009, there were 327,300 total appeals and 21,416 approvals. SSA only approved approximately 6.5% of all request for reconsideration filings.

Clearly, it is quite difficult to win a Social Security disability benefits claim. This is especially true for people who were denied and filed an appeal. Whether you are applying for SSDI or SSI benefits, the process should be taken seriously, which is why we strongly recommend seeking out legal representation from the beginning.