Service standards
The Social Security Tribunal has service standards for processing appeals. Our service standards set an expectation for how many days it should take for us to complete appeals under normal circumstances. Appellants should know how long it will take to get a decision in their appeal. You can see our current service standards below.
Information on how we fare against our service standards is also included below. This is like a report card for the Tribunal. We use this information to assess our performance, to help us focus on areas for improvement.
We update this information quarterly. Our progress reports provide the information on our performance for previous fiscal years.
On this page
General Division – Employment Insurance
Service standards:
- Final decisions made within 45 days from filing of appeal 80% of the time
- Final decisions made within 15 days of the hearing 80% of the time
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Our performance 2020-21
Our performance Quarter From filing of appeal From hearing % completed within 45 days Average days % completed within 15 days Average days April-June 74% 39.6 84% 10.5 July-September 74% 38.5 83% 9.2 October-December 84% 33.4 89% 7.7 January-March 89% 31.2 94% 5.2 2020-2021 fiscal year 80% 36.4 88% 8.4
General Division – Income Security (Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security)
Service standards:
- Final decisions made within 70 days of the parties being ready for a hearing 80% of the time
- Final decisions made within 30 days of the hearing 80% of the time
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Our performance 2020-21
Our performance Quarter From when parties ready for a hearing From hearing % completed within 70 days Average days % completed within 30 days Average days April-June 60% 80 82% 21.1 July-September 67% 71.3 88% 19.9 October-December 65% 76 76% 25.5 January-March 66% 72.8 83% 20.7 2020-2021 fiscal year 65% 73.7 82% 21.5
Appeal Division – Permission to appeal
Service standard:
- Decision on permission to appeal made within 45 days from filing of appeal 80% of the time
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Our performance 2020-21
Our performance Quarter % completed within 45 days Average days April-June n/a* n/a* July-September 98% 18.9 October-December 99% 17.6 January-March 99% 17.8 2020-2021 fiscal year 99% 17.9 *New service standards in effect as of July 1, 2020.
Appeal Division – Final decision
Service standard:
- Final decisions made within 150 days from the date permission to appeal was given 80% of the time
- We don’t have a formal standard for receiving a decision after your hearing at the Appeal Division, but you can typically expect:
- A hearing within 90 days after you get permission to appeal
- A final decision within 60 days after your hearing
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Our performance 2020-21
Our performance Quarter % completed within 150 days Average days April-June n/a* n/a* July-September 93% 83.1 October-December 100% 76.1 January-March 94% 77.1 2020-2021 fiscal year 95% 79.1 *New service standards in effect as of July 1, 2020.
Exceptions
We may not be able to meet our service standards in the following situations:
- constitutional cases
- late appeals
- cases with added parties
- cases where adjournments or extensions of time have been granted
Other factors that may affect our ability to meet our service standards include:
- group appeals
- a surge in the volume of cases
- the complexity of certain cases
- the availability of Tribunal members