The Backlog is Real and the Timelines Can Be Brutal

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) has acknowledged that disability delays reached extreme levels. In late 2024, SSA testified that close to 1.2 million people were waiting for an initial disability decision. Claimants were waiting an average of 227 days for an initial decision and another 234 days for a decision on appeal.

SSA has since reported some improvement, sharing that the initial disability backlog had been reduced to about 865,000 pending claims and the average initial processing time was 209 days. That’s still an eternity when you’re trying to pay your rent, secure insurance, or keep the lights on while you’re in treatment.

The Disability Determination Services Bottleneck is a Barrier to Benefits

People are surprised to learn that SSA doesn’t make the medical decision alone. At both the initial application and the second stage of the process, your claim is sent to a state Disability Determination Services (“DDS”) agency for the medical decision. SSA’s management named DDS staffing as a challenge, noting declines in DDS staffing compared with prior periods.

Simply applying for benefits doesn’t mean you will be approved either. In 2025, DDS approved 35.6 percent of the cases at the initial application level and 15.9 percent of the claims at the second stage of the process nationally. This means that most claimants end up appearing in front of a judge to get benefits.

Field Offices: Appointment-only

For years, people went to a local SSA office when phones failed or mail felt risky. That door has narrowed. SSA announced that effective January 6, 2025, customers must schedule an appointment for service in field offices with limited exceptions.

If you’re dealing with cancer treatment schedules, low energy or transportation challenges, “make an appointment” sounds reasonable—until there’s no appointment available, or you can’t get through to schedule one.

Phones: Long Waits, Dropped Calls and the “Try Again” Trap

It can be difficult to reach SSA by phone. Callers can experience very long waits depending on whether they stay on hold or request a call back. An SSA Inspector General report described wide swings in wait times in 2025, including periods where average hold times peaked around 30 minutes. Callers who stayed on hold could exceed an hour during certain periods. For someone in active cancer care, that isn’t an inconvenience, it’s an insurmountable barrier.

Centralized Mailing is Quietly Wrecking People’s Appeal Deadlines

SSA requires appeals to be filed within 65 days after you receive a denial. The problem is that the mailing process has become centralized, especially at the hearing level, where mail can be routed to a centralized scanning system. This rerouting of mail has caused letters to be mailed less timely by SSA compared to items sent from SSA’s manual mailing system.

Like SSA, the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) has also changed how they process mail. As of December 24, 2025, the postmark on your letter may no longer represent the day that you dropped off your correspondence at USPS for mailing. If you need proof that you dropped an important letter bound for SSA at your post office on a certain day, you must go in and ask for a receipt.

If you are worried about whether SSA has received the items you mailed them, you’re not paranoid. You’re reacting to a system that has become harder to track.

The Bottom Line

Cancer already forces you to become a part-time medical administrator. You shouldn’t have to become a disability systems navigator too. Until SSA’s access improves, however, you must take steps to advocate for yourself when filing for disability benefits.

• Use SSA’s online services when possible.
• File forms and appeal denials early (and preferably online) to ensure that SSA receives your correspondences timely.
• Reach out to your Members of Congress if you cannot get through SSA’s phone lines.
• Come up with a financial plan before filing for benefits in case your claim process is lengthy.
• Most importantly, don’t forget that there are resources to support you.