04/04/2026
Wondering what your chances are of being approved for disability benefits? The Social Security Administration just released their 2025 statistics. These are just general numbers, your own situation will be dictated by the severity of your medical condition, your work history and your age.
However, the initial allowance rate has ranged from 33-39% from 2006 to 2025. We estimate Utah to be around 34%.
At the next step of teh appeal process, the allowance ranges from 11% to 16%.
The ALJ allowance rate is higher and stable from 2013 to 2025 at 45-50%, but if you go back further, the allowance rate was over 60% in 2006 and 2009.
If you are denied by a judge, things are pretty grim, the 2025 remand rate for the Appeals Council was 15%, consistent with 2020 to 2024 (11% to 16%). The number of requests for review to the Appeals Council decided in 2025 was 83,759, compared to only 45,641 in 2024.