Social Security backlog & funding update
New figures are out about the Social Security backlog (September 2008 issue of the Social Security Forum):
The number of cases waiting for a decision at Social Security reached a record high of 767,000.
The average wait time is 532 days, with wait times varying between 283 days and 943 days (just under three years).
In my own experience, Colorado cases are processed a bit faster than the national average: I see wait times are approximately 12-18 months (365- 545 days), with most cases having a hearing scheduled around the 14 months after a request for hearing this filed.
Funding for Social Security …
3 win Social Security benefits after newspaper profile
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about three people who were awarded Social Security disability benefits after waiting years for a decision:
Social Security spokesman Mark Lassiter said the three cases were reviewed following an Aug. 3 article about the 21,000 people waiting for their day in court at the agency’s two Atlanta offices. Catherine Mulhall, Tony Mata and Dale Free each had appealed after being denied twice for benefits.
…
The offices in Atlanta – known as “the backlog capital of the country” – are among the worst. On average, claimants wait 793 days for a decision from the agency’s North Atlanta office and 769 days from its downtown Atlanta office.
So, did publicity help get these three people a faster decision? Yes, I think it did.
Does this mean that publicity will help in every case? I don’t think so.
National Hearing Center Aims to Reduce Case Backlog
Social Security Administration is establishing a National Hearing Center (NHC) so that a centralized cadre of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) can use video hearing technology to hear cases in the most backlogged parts of the country. … The agency also plans to hire about 150 ALJs and some additional hearing office support staff in the spring of 2008. SSA Press Release.
All I can say is that it cannot come soon enough.
photo credit: ronnie44052
