Since the government shutdown began well more than a month ago thousands of Social Security employees were furloughed and the ones who remained on the job worked without pay. Not only has this caused turmoil for Social Security employees, but it has also resulted in a significant slowdown in processing disability claims.

On Nov. 12, 2025, an agreement was reached to end the government shutdown, but it will take time for processing improve at the agency, not just because of the shutdown, but also because of other contributing factors. Below are some of the current challenges Social Security is facing in its efforts to process disability claims.

• Understaffing and Budget Constraints: The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) administrative budget has decreased by 17 percent since 2010, while the number of beneficiaries has increased by 22 percent. This lack of adequate funding prevents the SSA from hiring sufficient staff to manage the growing workload, resulting in a workforce at near-historic lows.
• Growing Backlog of Claims: As of September 2024, there were approximately 1.18 million pending initial disability claims and over 331,000 reconsiderations pending. This massive backlog means applicants often wait months for decisions; the average wait time for an initial determination reached 231 days in 2024, which is twice the pre-pandemic average.
• Staffing Shortages at State Agencies: The state-level Disability Determination Services (DDS), which make medical eligibility decisions, are also experiencing severe staff shortages. These offices are funded with federal dollars, but hiring is managed by individual states, which sometimes struggle to offer competitive salaries or have hiring freezes, creating a major “bottleneck” in the process.