In the latter part of the 1980s, the agency experienced reductions in both work force and administrative funding. By the early 1990s, there existed a shortage of personnel needed to handle a significant increase in claims, as well as to meet review schedules. In an effort to free up resources to process initial claims, the agency sharply curbed the review of existing beneficiaries. Beginning in 1994, growth in initial claims began to level-off and once again attention shifted to performing mandated reviews. Table 5 shows the historical number of terminations and gross termination rates for disabled workers , by reason for decrement.
Most terminations occur as a result of death or conversion.
Recovery is the most volatile termination category, being subject to many outside variables as previously mentioned. The spike in recoveries in 1997 is a result of the provision of Public Law 104-121 to eliminate drug addicts and alcoholics from the DI rolls. Termination categories are depicted in figure 3. As mentioned, death and conversion account for most of the terminations that occur, and the general trend in termination rates has been a declining one. Figure 4 shows the total termination rates for disabled workers.