Thomas McCutche
Question: I have applied for Social Security disability. It has been over a year and I still do not have my benefits. Why does it take so long?
Answer: That is a question I hear from my clients every week, and the answer is simply the volume of applications filed. For the fiscal year 2013 the hearing level of Social Security received over 760,000 cases, down from 850,000 in FY 2012. The national average from the time of appeal until the decision was mailed was 380 days, which unfortunately was up from FY 2012 when the average was 353 days.
My experience shows that the initial level determination takes between two and six months, while the reconsideration level takes slightly less. In Alabama we benefit from the reconsideration having been eliminated, while my clients in Mississippi and Tennessee face a longer wait. Many individuals file their application without representation and only get an attorney when they receive a denial. In our office we file Title II Social Security disability benefits for our clients. We believe by the individual being represented from the start their case can be better organized and developed. It also gives us the opportunity to provide advice which can increase the probability of receiving the benefits deserved.
In north Alabama we are blessed with a very good hearing office and the hearings office in Tupelo, which serves north Mississippi, and the office in Franklin, which serves south central Tennessee and the Decatur area of Alabama, both produce at above the national average. For the Florence hearing office hearings are being held five or six months after the appeal, not the application, is filed, with another 30 to 60 days passing before a decision is received. That means my north Alabama clients are having their case resolved in around 240 days, which is over three months less than the national average. The staff of Florence ODAR should be commended for their hard work. With only a couple of exceptions the cases I have scheduled for hearings in December are for applications filed between March and May 2013, meaning those cases will have taken 10 to 12 months from the point of filing to receipt of an Administrative law Judge decision.
Any wait is difficult for those seeking to obtain benefits to help them meet their basic needs, and I become as frustrated as my clients with the wait. However the numbers show Social Security is reducing the wait. I believe their goal is to have a hearing held and a decision issued within five months of the appeal, and they are making progress toward that goal. As I have stated before, having experienced, local representation on your case will greatly increased your chances of being approved. Having the right medical records and reviewing them to reveal how they show your limitations to the judge makes a major difference.
This week’s excellent article written by guest contributor, Richie Whitten
McCutcheon & Hamner
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, AL 35630
256 764-0112
