Number of Social Security Claims Rises

Claims for Social Security and disability benefits have grown in recent years.  65 percent of new disability claims are initially denied which results in appeals piling up, and administrative law judges who hear these cases are overwhelmed.

By August 2008, an appeal took an average of 532 days to resolve. The agency hired judges and support staff to speed up the process, and by last year the average appeal took 390 days. There was still a backlog of 705,370 pending hearings.

Potential cuts to social security could delay claims from being processed for about 700,000 people, according to an estimate compiled by Democratic House lawmakers.

In response, the Social Security agency has suspended efforts to open eight planned hearing offices to process claims in Alabama, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Montana, California and New York, spokesman Mark Lassiter said. Overtime has been largely eliminated, and a hiring freeze has blocked new staff to process appeals. 

"We have many high-traffic offices where all day long, our employees interview people filing for benefits," said Witold Skwierczynski, president of the union representing local Social Security field offices. "Then they have to process a case. That takes time."

The agency pays out more than $800 billion in benefits every year to retirees, their spouses, dependents and survivors, low-income disabled adults and children, and some low-income World War II veterans.

Getting your benefits can be a long, arduous process, and it helps to have an attorney on your side who knows how to navigate the system.   If you're frustrated with the lengthy, confusing process of Social Security disability, then call us today at 1-888-552-0595. Whether you're looking to hire a lawyer now or just need a little information to get you started, we're happy to help.

Retrieved from The Washington Post online.