EXCLUSIVE – The Social Security Administration on Monday unveiled new improvements to its disability adjudication process.
The SSA said recent upgrades have reduced the backlog in its pending disability adjudication, which the agency uses to evaluate disability claims and determine benefits, by roughly 30% since June 2024. The number of outstanding claims dropped from 1.27 million to 830,000 over the last 20 months, the SSA said.
The agency also said it processed 2.3 million claims in fiscal 2025, a 10% increase from the year prior. This increase has cut down average processing times for initial claims by almost 45 days since January 2025 and reduced the average processing times at the hearing level to 265 days, marking the lowest level in two decades.
“For too long, Americans with disabilities have endured lengthy delays for a decision on the support they desperately need,” Social Security Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Under President Trump’s leadership, Social Security is improving how we process disability claims, leveraging smarter technology, stronger federal-state partnerships, and a relentless focus on efficiency.”
“Reducing disability inventory and backlogs and delivering timely decisions are key to transforming the agency into a model of excellence — a digital-first agency that operates at peak efficiency and provides best-in-class service to the millions of Americans who rely on SSA,” Bisignano added.
The SSA said it has accomplished these improvements by streamlining its processes, including bringing together “formerly siloed parts” of its disability infrastructure under a chief of disability adjudication who reports to Bisignano. The agency also converted medical files to searchable digital texts, expediting the examination of disability claims.
FIRST ROUND OF MARCH SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS GOES OUT IN NINE DAYS
The SSA’s upgrades to its disability adjudication process come about a month after it surpassed 100 million Americans creating my Social Security accounts. Bisignano said the milestone marks how the SSA is working toward “providing convenient and best-in-class customer service.”
Social Security payments continue to roll out as the SSA improves its services. The first Social Security payment for March will go out on March 11, and April’s Supplemental Security Income payment will be issued to recipients on April 1.
