Back in 2007 Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said the Administration was going to focus on reducing the amount of time a Social Security disability claimant, who is requesting either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), has to wait for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
Today, Social Security disability applicants, on average, face a waiting period of 360 days for a hearing from the date of request.
The goal, set forth in 2007, was to cut the waiting period from 12-15 months to 270 days, or about nine months, by the end of fiscal year 2013 (September).
A major reason the wait time is so long for a hearing before an ALJ is that there are just not enough ALJs to administer hearings in a timely manner. Part of Social Security’s 2013 budget calls for the number of ALJs to increase nationwide to about 1,500. Despite the fact that in 2007 Social Security underestimated the number of hearings it would be need to schedule in 2013 by 1 million, Astrue and his staff still believes the goal of reducing the waiting time a for a hearing to 270 days is achievable.
Other measures Social Security is leaning on to achieve this goal include improved training of staff, information technology and increased numbers of cases headed to the virtual screening unit and video teleconference hearings.
By the Numbers
- Social Security expects to administer 960,000 hearings in Fiscal Year 2013.
- The amount of hearings in 2013 would be a 75 percent increases since 2007.
- After elimination of mailed Social Security statements the Administration expects to save $70 million annually.
- Because of a hiring freeze instituted in 2011 the Administration expects to lose 7,000 state and federal employees between 2011 and 2013.
- Social Security estimates it needs a budget increase of $300 million in 2013 just to meet fixed costs.
For more information about Social Security’s attempt to reduce hearing waiting times checkout the 2013 fiscal report by visiting this link: http://www.ssa.gov/budget/2013BudgetOverview.pdf
