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
Comments are closed.
Carol
I appreciate the vast amount of work in trying to serve 50 million Americans. I think most people consider social security personnel and offices to be ‘essential services.’ We would prefer to be served than protected. In person service with an adequate staff should have been restored on a decision by the local office based on protective measures in place. My local office is safer than any doctor’s office or Walmart- both of which are visited by your employees and those over 65. A friend has waited 3 months and still has no appointment for an person visit which Social Security requires.
Teresa T.
While realising that many companies are deciding to go virtual to save money surely you are aware of the limitations of the elderly and disabled to not only have a reliable instrument but broadband as well. I recently lost access to housing assistance because they claimed to have not received 2 out of 8 forms that I submitted by text. They then encouraged me to go to a greasy gas station within eye sight of their office to fax the 2 forms. It would have been a 50 mile round trip to that greasy gas station. Had to keep their employees safe but OK to require a 70 year old to go to a no mask business. So this new tele-com world is definitely leaving many unfortunate people by the wayside. Not that anybody cares
Robin
Good morning,what is going on with the stimulus payment for the people who are struggling and varnuble,SSI , SSDI Railroad Veterans what happened to our payments
Jimmie D.
We’re is are 1400 stimulus checks
Marcus
Can you guys let us on ssi and ssdi that dont file taxes when we should expect our Eip 3rd stimulus check
Anne D.
The total disintegration of customer service under your watch is only part of the many issues you have ushered in. The lack of adequate training of staff is a glaring issue: There seems to be no consistent training or oversight. The lack of accurate information and timely response to beneficiary concerns and questions is a huge, glaring problem.
My clients have shared with me their experiences of calling an office multiple times, and receiving completely contradictory – and incorrect – information from each person they speak to.
These staff send out the wrong forms, tell beneficiaries wrong information, send out letters rife with errors, and refuse to sign letters with a name and contact info. Not to mention the fact that they’re UNAVAILABLE to the public – you know, us serfs who pay your salaries??
Politicians, especially the gop, keep going on about “opening up”, and the rest of us are expected to be at our jobs, including teachers and front-line folks who don’t enjoy a fraction of the benefits and pay you people have. Yet you seem to feel that you all should be insulated from the public! This is ridiculous – get back to your offices and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – NOW!
I am writing to both of my Senators and am asking them to launch an investigation into the absolutely appalling quality of service, massive amounts of erroneous information being told to beneficiaries, and the total lack of oversight of SSA employees. Not to mention the fact that this agency now apparently utterly refuses to deal with the public.
DOUGLAS W.
Hope we will see in the future 8 range for surviving spouses to receive at least a 20% increase when one spouse passes away would like to also see a better cost of living coming down the road for us also I’m still working I’m 74 will continue working as long as I can paying into Social Security I hope I will see an evaluation every year that might give me a little bit of an increase every year don’t know if it will happen or not I can only hope
Vonda
Hi Douglas, thank you for using our blog to ask your question. Each year we review the records for all Social Security recipients who work. If your latest year of earnings turns out to be one of your highest years, we refigure your benefit and pay you any increase due. This is an automatic process, and benefits are paid in December of the following year. For example, in December 2021, you should get an increase for your 2020 earnings if those earnings raised your benefit. The increase would be retroactive to January 2021.
Check out our Receiving Benefits While Working web page for more details.
DOUGLAS W.
Also I’m in my seventies and I’m still working I hope that was a will give us increases as we progress through the years and I-70 is when we work I was told there’s a good possibility we could end out with an evaluation every year and it might be possible to get an increase every year or every other year maybe I’m just dreaming and hoping on something that will never happen don’t know
Deborah P.
I am disabled now due to a accident and depression. I draw SS and I’ve paid in all my credits. Can I draw my disability SS
now ?
Vonda
Hi Deborah, thanks for using our blog. Social Security disability benefits automatically change to retirement benefits when disability beneficiaries become full retirement age. The law does not allow a person to receive both retirement and disability benefits on one earnings record at the same time. We hope this helps!
Jessie T.
I work for a SSA Disability attorney and we have not been closed even one day during this pandemic. Your offices have been closed for over a year now and it has made life VERY DIFFICULT for attorney offices and clients alike. I think your office people are no better than I am at 65 years of age to be working every day trying to help people with their disability claims and that they should be back in their offices helping people. You, Sir, are not in a position to see the everyday person with disabilities that need help.
We would all like a definitive date on when these field offices and hearing offices will be reopened to the public. This pandemic crap has been totally blown out of proportion in my humble opinion.
Patricia l.
Well I think it’s really unfair to us senior citizens that live on so little money. But these younger people are getting thousands an thousands of dollars unemployment. Thousands of food stamps an thousands of stimulus benfits we live with out. I received a total so far 2000 stimlus but we have to use our money for repairs on our homes that are falling down around an they all these welfare people getting thousands of dollars going on vacations eating meals at red lobster. Long horn. Taking every brother sister there kid to the aquarium in Atlanta Monday one day they spent a thousand dollars big screens. Tv New washer an dryer renting from rent a center shopping everyday an we can’t even get a couple of hundred. A month. An we have to wait on our stimlus check the government should try to help the golden year’s a little easier. Biden an all the Senate an house are all senior citizens they need to help us more it’s a shame we can’t even buy brand name toilet paper we have to buy the cheap package for.99 cents. 4 rolls for a whole month all of you need to be a shamed of how the elderly is treated these kids out there having babies just to get the government to pay to raise them an kids dad’s pay but momma don’t turn it in please pass this on to the present an let him or any of you live 814 a month. $500 .00 for rent power over a hundred gas over a hundred an what left for food be cause we get so little foodstamps want feed us for a month an we have to wait on our 3 stimlus check. I’m using mine to put new floors that our falling thur no heat or air can’t afford to run it no heat during winter but the get leap an when ask for leap there out of money section 8 waiting list years because there not going to move they just let family members have it. Please pass it on to the paper an to the president an the senators. An the house we need to be heard Patricia lee
Silas F.
When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he opened the door to effective communication without a face-2-face meetings. When the US Government began the low-income phone program, it removed the need to drive or take public transportation to a local office. The closure of the local offices, while maintaining a highly effective course of adaptation and improvement to tele-service options, is a revolutionary opportunity. Continuing to embracing expanded remote services is both logical and “green” for this traditionally top-heavy organization. The decision to protect the SSA trust-fund during this unprecedented time, is both welcomed and appreciated. Ultimately, effective services and beneficiary expectations will soon meet, and the nation will fully appreciate how the agency is continuing to protect SSA services and funding to ensure the financial needs of the citizens most jepordized by the pandemic.