Social Security Disability and the Holidays

It has been my experience that Social Security Disability and SSI claims decisions appear to slow down during the holidays. I believe this is because many employees of Social Security and Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) like everyone else this time of year have many things to do during this season. I have no statistics to back up my claim that there are less SSDI and SSI hearings scheduled or decisions made, but I noticed it in my practice over the years. I also believe there is a slow down because many people take vacation time at this time of the year and take sick or vacation days to do some shopping. It makes sense, since if you consider how hectic this time of year is for you, it is no different for the people who work for SSA or the ALJs at the Social Security hearing offices. To see how long it takes to get a Social Security Disability decision visit my page on the topic which shows you the average wait time at the hearing level for each state and SSDI hearing office. This is not something I see as a huge problem, but if you do not get a decision around this time and you are at the time frame were you would think you might don't be too surprised if your decision or hearing date comes after the holiday season. I am only telling you this so you can be aware, so you can mentally prepare yourself for the possibility that your case could be slowed down a little. Just to be clear, it may not be the case and only a local thing I have noticed in the offices I deal with on the most frequent basis, but it also does make sense that there would be at least a little slow down in the processing of SSD and SSI claims at this time of the year. I hope that none of your cases are delayed by the holidays and that you get a favorable decision before the holidays, so you can enjoy them a little more without having to worry about you Social Security disability claim. Not much you can do about any possible slow down except do everything on your end to make sure Social Security has all the information they need to find you disabled. Take this time to research my free Social Security disability information at my website.