Letter to the Public on Service
Reading Time: 5 MinutesLast Updated: November 2, 2023
I want to update you about how things are going at the Social Security Administration.
About a year ago, I took the unprecedented step to close our offices to the public. I did this to keep our employees and you—the public we serve—safe. As we enter year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines and other precautionary measures give us cause for hope. For now, we will continue our current safety measures as described in our COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan. This plan is iterative, and we will update it as we receive additional government-wide guidance and information from public health experts in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Like many businesses and organizations, the pandemic has forced us to adapt. I want to thank our employees for their willingness to embrace innovative ways of working while we continue to deliver our mission. As we examine our work in a new light, we are asking which lessons learned could improve service beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
We understand that the public wants to engage with us on some matters in person, and our local offices are integral to our communities. We also know that not everyone can conveniently come to us in person and that when you do visit, you want the process to be efficient. For example, we may need evidence from you, but we do not need to interview you in person. We are currently testing drop box and express appointment options for the public to bring in documentation.
Often, you only need to know your Social Security number and do not need a physical Social Security card. However, if you do need to replace your card, we are testing video appointments if you need a new Social Security card but do not need to change any of the information in our records. Although ideas like these began as solutions during COVID-19, we are considering how they could improve service in the future.
Some of these concepts also allow us to consider how we might continue to use telework, something that most organizations and companies have depended on during the COVID-19 pandemic, to drive longer-term operational efficiencies like reducing space. We could use those savings to provide you more online service options and hire more people to serve you more quickly as well as to retain outstanding employees. We will continue to engage our managers, employees, and unions on ways we could use telework to improve customer service and other issues.
We often note that Social Security touches the lives of nearly every American. Be assured that as we continue to evolve, we are committed to serving everyone including our most vulnerable populations who often require in person assistance. We are working with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, claimant advocates, and other organizations to ensure our services are accessible to people with low income, limited English proficiency, mental illness, or facing homelessness. We recently added online tools and information pages to our website including:
- Online resources for People Helping Others access our services.
- Online Outreach Materials for Partner Groups.
- Updated information for Faith-Based and Community Groups including a new toolkit.
As we contemplate the future, we are delivering now. To help improve deteriorating service, we have added over 6,000 frontline employees to help you. We decreased the average wait to talk to our 800 Number agents by one-third and reduced the agent busy rate by over 50 percent in the last two years, and our 800 Number agents handled 1.6 million more calls than they did a year ago.
During the pandemic, we shifted service to the telephone where local office employees answered 13 million more calls last year than they did in fiscal (FY) 2019. They answered your calls in under 3 minutes on average compared to an average wait of nearly 24 minutes in FY 2019.
For individuals who were denied benefits and requested an appeal, we quickly shifted to holding hearings by telephone at the start of the pandemic and then added online video hearings. During the pandemic, we have continued to reduce the number of people waiting for a hearing to 376,000 at the end of February 2021, the lowest level in nearly 20 years. We reduced the average wait for a hearing by over 9 months in the last two years. If you are still waiting for a hearing, please consider scheduling by telephone or video. You can find out more information about telephone hearings and video hearings.
The pandemic has significantly disrupted parts of our disability process, particularly at the state Disability Determination Services (DDS) that make disability determinations for us. We have provided the DDSs with additional hiring and overtime to help address a significant increase in pending initial disability cases. The DDSs have been able to reduce the number of people waiting for a decision on initial disability claims by about 100,000 cases since the height of the pending cases in August 2020. In order to make initial disability decisions as quickly as possible, and to reduce the burden on the medical community still stressed from the pandemic, we have focused our limited resources on completing initial requests for disability benefits and have reduced the number of continuing disability reviews we are conducting.
We have made some notable improvements to our online services:
- Our redesigned Retirement Benefits Portal helps you prepare and apply for retirement benefits, with clearer, simplified information.
- We improved our registration process for our online my Social Security account – more than one million people will register for an account this month.
- Our Message Center allows people with a my Social Security account to access notices online instead of by mail.
- We implemented an online payment option for people to repay debts to Social Security.
- We expanded our online Social Security card replacement service to almost all states. If you need to replace your card, you can request a replacement through your my Social Security account if you:
- Are a U.S. citizen age 18 years or older with a U.S. mailing address;
- Are not requesting a name change or any other change to your card; and
- Have a driver’s license or a state-issued identification card from one of 45 participating states or the District of Columbia. If your state does not yet participate in this service, check back soon. More states are added regularly.
The entire team at Social Security is working hard to serve you. We thank you for your patience during the COVID-19 pandemic and we look forward to welcoming you back in our offices when it is safe to do so. We also look forward to continuing to improve all of our service channels to provide you with convenient options to do business with us.
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Tags: COVID-19, my Social Security, social security, SSI
See CommentsAbout the Author
Andrew Saul, Commissioner, Social Security Administration
Commissioner of Social Security Administration (June 17, 2019 - July 9, 2021)
Comments
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Lisa d.
I’m also wondering when we might expect the newest stimulus relief and it’s not like we don’t need the extra help. Our income is much less then others to begin with
TinaYSasser
I am on ssi and some one has stolen my home by fraudulent acts and I am now homeless I have APC case # but have not been able to find an Attorney to help.this has been since october21 2020 please help.
Donald J.
What should you do if your not sure if you have already created an account. Is there a number to call. I think I did many years ago couldn’t tell any information about now.
SORRY
V.V.
Hi Donald, thanks for using our blog. For assistance with your account, you may call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or you can contact your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information. Please be aware that our call wait times are longer than normal. We hope this information helps.
Ernestine S.
I most assuredly agree that existing on Social Security is living way below poverty level. I am ashamed of our system for our Senior Citizens. I too go to food banks and get Meals on Wheels Monday thru Friday. I know Senior Citizens gets discounts also but I am a Vietnam veteran widow. I don’t get many discounts.
I am so tired of existing on Social Security and living day by day. Money running out way before you get paid again once a month? This month I am -$4.04 in the hole. Maybe have $7 and some change in my purse. Unfortunately, it’s only the middle of the month.
I guess I should have invested money into another retirement plan.
Meals on Wheels claims they deliver food to over 60% of women over the age of 64 being their clients
I have sent letters to Senator Ted Cruz, Rep. Texas, many times but only response was… Thank you for your letter. Same from Senator Louie Gomert. In addition to all the Represents of Texas. I guess my next letter will be to Governor Abbott. The reason for the letters is to plead for higher payments.
Being lower than poverty is very pitiful. I am not used to this kind of existence.
Please, I request additional raises on Social Security. Can you help?
RAUL S.
I’m direct deposit from my bank and I want to know when I’m going to receive my $1400!!! because there’s no information on it whatsoever !! for anybody that gets social security SSI SSDI . I mean can somebody tell us when are we going to receive our money !!!
Amy J.
My husband immigrated here from New Zealand. It took 1 year for him to receive his social security card. For an entire year our calls were transferred from one department to the next and when leaving messages for supervisors to call us back we never heard anything in response…not once in a year. An entire year of being pushed off and ignored and finally after I made a call to my local elected officials for help something happened. I truly hope this isn’t the same treatment everyone gets or if he was put on the back burner because he immigrated. Please do better.
ThanksItHasPockets
My husband immigrated here from New Zealand. It took 1 year for him to receive his social security card. For an entire year our calls were transferred from one department to the next and when leaving messages for supervisors to call us back we never heard anything in response…not once in a year. An entire year of being pushed off and ignored and finally after I made a call to my local elected officials for help something happened. I truly hope this isn’t the same treatment everyone gets or if he was put on the back burner because he immigrated. Please do better.
R S.
I’m undirect deposit from my bank and I want to know when I’m going to receive my $1400 because there’s no information on it whatsoever for anybody that gets social security SSI SSDI I mean can somebody tell us when are we going to receive our money
Linnette W.
I received SSI haven’t received my stimulus 1400 yet when will I receive it I have direct Express
Lynn M.
I’m in the same boat as you. Why do we have to wait for this check? Does anyone realize how messed up this is? Why would they put a delay on this check when they did not with the previous two? I have past due rent aa well as other outstanding bills. The 504.00 I get a month is gone because this check was to be distributed by now. This is just great. No information anywhere that I can find but plenty of irrelevant articles!