Why Does It Take So Long to Get Disability?
SSD is intended to provide support for workers who can no longer earn a living due to an injury or medical condition. While these disability benefits can be a lifeline for someone who can’t continue working, timing presents a problem for many Social Security disability applicants.
Securing benefits can take several months to two years or more. That can put significant stress on a disabled worker who may have no other source of income during that time. So, why the gap?
Factors Impacting the Social Security Disability Timeline
The first built-in delay in receiving disability benefits is that the Social Security Administration (SSA) doesn’t pay benefits for the first five months you are disabled. As a practical matter, though, that waiting period doesn’t affect when most people start receiving benefits. That’s because for nearly all applicants, the waiting period has passed by the time benefits are approved.
Initial Disability Application Timeline
According to the SSA, the average time to receive a determination on an initial Social Security disability application is 232 days. That’s nearly eight months. In part, that wait is due to high application volume. The complexity of the decision-making process also plays a role, since the SSA must first consider technical requirements, then review extensive medical documentation and other evidence. In some cases, they may need to obtain additional information.
Unfortunately, most disability applications are initially denied. That means additional steps that add time to the process.
Reconsideration Timeline
The first step in appealing a Social Security disability denial is to request reconsideration. You have 60 days to request reconsideration. Reconsideration is typically the quickest step. Still, by the time the process is complete, an average of about 475 days have passed since the initial application–about 15.5 months.
ALJ Hearing Timeline
If your application is denied on reconsideration, the next step is a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Just getting to the ALJ hearing takes a long time. The timeline for scheduling the hearing varies a lot depending on geography, and is typically between eight months and two years. Then, the applicant can expect to wait an average of 285 days for a decision.
Timelines May Get Longer in 2025
Just two years ago, the average wait time for a hearing decision was 450 days. The drop to the current 285 days was due in large part to a concerted effort on the part of the SSA to cut down wait times. However, early in 2025, several thousand positions were eliminated, meaning there are fewer workers available to keep the process moving efficiently.
How You Can Minimize the Wait for Disability Benefits
While you can’t control the SSA’s timelines, there are steps you can take to keep your application moving forward as smoothly as possible. The first is ensuring that you include everything necessary to process your application so the SSA doesn’t have to pause and request additional information. Another is making sure that you fully understand what is required to allow the SSA to approve your claim at the initial application stage, since having to appeal creates a significant delay.
To learn more about how an experienced disability benefits advocate can help, call 800-800-3332 or contact us here now.
Learn More Here:
Do My Migraines Qualify Me for Disability Benefits?
Does Hashimoto’s Disease Qualify for Disability Benefits?
Can I Lose My Disability Benefits?
