(WSBT) It's a problem facing more than 20,000 families in Indiana and nearly 50,000 in Michigan. People, who say they're unable to work, are appealing to the Social Security Administration for disability benefits; but they have to wait for years.

The government now says it's working to get the line moving faster.

Tom and Sharon Selner are supposed to be enjoying the home they built for life's golden years. Instead, they’re concerned about how they’ll pay for it.

“These are the medical records, the appeals, the doctors’ notes,” explained Sharon, pointing to a stack of papers.

It was spring 2001 when Tom first started having heart trouble. After heart surgery, followed by more problems, he left his job after 30 years.

“Because of the fact that I'm not able to lift heavy, and the bending over kind of shuts my valve down,” he told WSBT News.

Not old enough for retirement, he applied for disability benefits through his Social Security. After being turned down, the Selners appealed for a hearing before a judge. But that was in 2005.

"And here we are — August of 2007 — and nothing," Sharon said.

"When you see your life savings dwindle to basically nothing, and I'm talking we put two kids through college and just were in pretty good shape after that and uh, that money's gone,” Tom said.

The Selners are in a very long line. They're among 24,000 Indiana families still waiting to appeal their case to an administrative law judge. In fact, Indiana has one of the biggest backlogs in the country.

Advocacy groups for the disabled ranked Indiana as seventh worst when it comes to delays in getting an appeal hearing. Michigan is fourth.

"I don't think I would characterize it is a crisis, but it is something we are extremely, extremely concerned about,” said Robert Walsh, spokesperson for the Social Security Administration.

One might call it the Social Security Administration's own perfect storm: more requests for disability as baby boomers get older, but fewer resources to handle them.

Since 2001, the Administration says it’s lost about $150 million a year in funding.

Walsh says the new head of Social Security is working on it, streamlining the appeals process and asking for more administrative judges to handle more hearings.

"What we're looking at is just the first wave of the baby boom generation and how it’s affecting Social Security,” explained Walsh.

“We just sit and wait not knowing whether we're going to hear something next week or next year,” said Sharon.

The Social Security Administration acknowledges it has strict requirements for disability beneficiaries. But it says about 30 to 40 percent of people are approved within three to four months of applying.

There are some things you can do to help the process move faster. The government suggests applying online rather than by mail or over the phone, and make sure to fill out everything completely.