The Social Security Administration (SSA) reported ever-worsening hearing wait times for disability claimants across the U.S. for the third quarter of this fiscal year (FY), ending June 30, 2017.
The average national processing time at the hearing level rose to 596 days, which is in addition to processing times at the initial application and reconsideration appeal levels. Since the start of FY 2013, when the nationwide hearing wait was 353 days, the average has spiked 243 days, an increase of 69 percent. The agency's goal remains at 270 days.
The total number of people waiting for a hearing declined slightly for the second straight quarter. However, the pending backlog of 1,088,982 hearings remains up over 30 percent since FY 2013. Over 60 percent of the hearings pending nationwide have been waiting over the 270 day goal.
