Question

I just received a notice of denial on my disability claim from Social Security and found out I need to request a reconsideration review before I can get an ALJ hearing. But I was also told hardly anyone is granted benefits after the reconsideration. How long is this review going to take?

Answer

In most cases, a Social Security disability or SSI reconsideration will not take as long as an initial claim (your original disability application). It is not unusual to get a decision on a reconsideration within eight weeks. But a reconsideration can also take more or less time. According to Social Security, reconsideration reviews have taken an average of 100 days in the past few years.

There's no way to really know how long yours will take, but the amount of processing time needed is determined largely by:

• How backed up the disability examiner is. Is the examiner overworked? Does he or she have a huge caseload to deal with?
• How long it takes the disability examiner to get any new medical records. If you noted that you had seen the doctor or had tests since your original application date, the claims examiner will send for your new treatment notes and test results. If you didn't mention in your reconsideration request that you had been to the doctor recently, the claims examiner won't request any new records.
• Whether or not there are special circumstances involved. For example, individuals who have suffered certain medical trauma, such as a heart attack, may have the processing of their disability case delayed for several months in order to ascertain the residual effects of their illness.

Learn more about how long the whole disability process takes or the reconsideration review.