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.
Crissy
When is someone going to contact me back for social security fraud and identit y theft on me and my children . Seems like this is not an important issue to you . When clearly this is a serious situation. I’m so fed up with getting the run arounds.,. I need help ASAP !!!
Vonda
For your security, Crissy, we do not have access to private information in this venue. We ask that members in our Blog community work with our offices with specific questions. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 for assistance or you can call 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.
Andrew B.
Thanks for the information Mr. Saul we really do appreciate any more information from you personally but readily made more private on a personal basis between you and Silverstein and Gall and a person by the name of Scorcese and oh I mean pierce oh I mean Chelkonas oh I mean Gewliani.
Joy S.
I got my 1st & 2nd stimulus checks on the IRS release date via direct deposit. This one all I keep reading is we’re not getting b/c ssa hasn’t released info,to irs??? The population that probably needs it most! What’s the problem??? Please fix this problem ASAP. Everything is political with little thought going to the real, desperately need that check, people you are supposed to be helping.
Tia S.
Why cant we get an answer about getting our stimulus check this is totally unfair and causing more stress on us.
Roy W.
I am having issues trying to obtain
My back pay awarded me stemming back to 2016. I’m currently working with my local field office to clarify and rectify this matter.
This year marks four, close to five years trying to resolve this…..HELP !!!🙏
Respectfully,
Roy
Vonda
For your security, Roy, we do not have access to private information in this venue. We ask that members in our Blog community work with our offices with specific questions. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 for assistance or you can call 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.
Cris
When are people on Social Security with Direct Express getting the Third Stimulus Check?
Jacqueline C.
When are ssi and ssdi getting there payments for the 3rd stimulus
Lauren H.
Yes totally understand but it has been so hard for parents like myself to get a replacement card for one of my children I call every other day about a situation that now taken almost 3 months to be handled an my daughter needs a replacement card how can I get these two matters addressed over the phone? Each time I’m been told a form is been sent out for my baby card I ain’t moved in 3 years still no form in mailbox, sad but frustrating for sure.
Vonda
Hi Lauren, thanks for using our blog. We are sorry to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions web page for information on how to replace a Social Security card for a child. To learn more on the process and what documents you and your child will need to get a card, please visit our Learn what documents you will need to get a Social Security Card web page. Use our Social Security Office Locator to find your local office address.
You may also find our Social Security and Coronavirus web page helpful.
Marie
I am experiencing the same issue. I have sent in 3 different applications and just sent out a 4th with my license included. The process has taken extremely long with no response. When I call to verify items have been received they act like they do not have anything! I left a voicemail for the supervisor and never got a call back. Who do we contact for things like this?
Vonda
Hi Marie, thanks for using our blog. We are very sorry to hear about your experience with Social Security. Please continue to work with your local Social Security office. 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.
Deazail H.
You need to get in contact with Baltimore main source Social Security office Administration
Harry D.
Where’s my stimulus check
Darla L.
Why haven’t social security recipients recieved their third stimulus payment ?
Beverley L.
I haven’t got my. Third stimulus check and I was just wondering if you know angting about it.
Vernon W.
Not cool to make people wait when other people get thiers old people like to pay thier bill’s too…
ida c.
Why haven’t I received my second stimulus check or my third stimulus check social security old me. Money and won’t pay
J
Because we don’t matter that’s why 90 million people got there already but we still have to wait
Robert T.
Because they don’t care about us we are a burden to the government after a lot of people worked hard for years just to be sit aside for last they don’t realize we lived on a fixed income and we badly need it but oh well
neena
Because you suck poo
Carol R.
I haven’t received mine Stimulus money and I’m on SSIDI everyone that I know have theirs. I have waited all week. Does it go that all working people get theirs first?
Patricia D.
Right? I feel vulnerable, elderly, disabled, & lowest income families should have been in 1st wave!
Webb B.
I have a feeling that there is going to be a very long wait. I never did receive the second check and had to get it has a credit on my 2020 federal tax return. I get my monthly social security as well as a military retirement check by direct deposit. This leads me to think that the deposit information was never given to the treasury department.
Calvin S.
Ok ow I’m on ssdi and it’s not right for us to wait when everyone else gets there’s
Dianne S.
They forget about who has done worked and now we are not important