Every pending hearing request represents someone who was denied, appealed, and then waited for the government to decide whether illness or disability had taken away the ability to work.
In 2007, SSA aimed to reduce the hearing backlog to 466,000 cases and the average wait to 270 days by the end of FY 2013. The agency did not meet either goal.
By FY 2014, pending hearing requests had climbed to 977,736. They exceeded one million in 2015 and peaked at 1,121,519 in 2016. Average processing time then peaked at 605 days in 2017.
End-of-year totals. Exact values appear when a reader hovers or taps each point.
| Fiscal year | Pending requests | Change from prior year |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 705,367 | — |
| 2011 | 771,318 | +9.3% |
| 2012 | 816,575 | +5.9% |
| 2013 | 847,984 | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 977,736 | +15.3% |
| 2015 | 1,060,907 | +8.5% |
| 2016 | 1,121,519 | +5.7% |
| 2017 | 1,056,026 | -5.8% |
| 2018 | 858,383 | -18.7% |
| 2019 | 575,421 | -33.0% |
| 2020 | 418,313 | -27.3% |
| 2021 | 350,137 | -16.3% |
| 2022 | 346,567 | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 321,819 | -7.1% |
| 2024 | 261,574 | -18.7% |
| 2025 | 279,857 | +7.0% |
Average processing time reflects the age and composition of cases completed during a fiscal year, not simply the number pending on the final day. That is why processing time can temporarily rise even while pending cases fall, especially when an agency prioritizes its oldest cases.
Days from hearing request to decision.
The backlog remained enormous even after years of reduction initiatives.
SSA's earlier plan had targeted 466,000 pending cases and 270 average days by this point. The end-of-year backlog was 847,984.
Pending hearing requests peaked at 1,121,519 in 2016. Average processing time peaked one year later at 605 days.
Dedicated funding, staffing, process changes, and lower receipts helped bring the backlog below 350,000.
SSA said prioritizing the oldest cases contributed to a temporary increase. For the person waiting, the reason did not shorten the wait.
Processing time improved sharply, but the pending level rose about 7% from 2024 and the revised 280-day goal was still missed.
A numeric goal cannot answer a phone, develop evidence, schedule a medical expert, prepare a file, conduct a hearing, draft a decision, or train a new employee. When goals exceed capacity, the organization triages. Some work moves. Other work waits. Errors become more likely. Employees absorb the pressure until they leave, break, or stop believing the target means anything.
Do not evaluate service goals without publishing the staffing, receipts, case complexity, training time, attrition, system outages, and aged workload required to understand whether the goal was attainable.