Social Safety touts backlog reductions, sharp drop in wait instances

Social Safety Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano has despatched an end-of-year letter to Congress describing what he known as “significant progress” on the company throughout fiscal 2025.

The letter highlights enhancements in customer support, subject workplace operations, on-line entry, incapacity backlogs, fee accuracy, and program integrity.

However Social Safety specialists who reviewed the report say the claims deserve a more in-depth look.

“With little historic data provided, it’s hard to say how ‘significant’ progress is,” mentioned Marcia Mantell, president of Mantell Retirement Consulting and creator of the forthcoming guide “Social Security: Lightly Toasted, Not Burnt.”

“But it is nice to see the Commissioner recognizing the staff for the extremely difficult work environment they have been subjected to since the DOGE team came in to upend the department.”

Mantell mentioned the letter can also be notable for what it neglected. “Are Americans getting excellent service with correct implementation of their benefits?” she requested.

“My clients are a 50/50. It took one field office over 70 days to process a simple Social Security initial claim and enroll her in Medicare. It was straightforward, she used the online application, and everything went missing. She spent hours on the phone trying to track her application down.”

She cited one other case involving a shopper who wants Social Safety and Medicare to start in February 2026. “Social Security will be turned on then, but the new agent mistakenly enrolled her into Medicare A and B effective November 2025,” Mantell mentioned.

“Now she’s got to pay her premium at work and pay her Part B premium. But Part B will be the secondary payer, if needed at all. So, due to ineffective training, she’s paying double for the same kind of insurance and can only use the employer plan.”

Mantell mentioned the company has additionally not addressed the harm attributable to the DOGE program. “Concern over this program was already on the edge with the reserve account projections,” she mentioned.

“But with unapproved and unmonitored access to every American’s data, consumers are extremely concerned. And claiming earlier than they should.”

The Social Safety Administration says common wait instances on its Nationwide 800 Quantity fell to seven minutes in September, down from 28 minutes a 12 months earlier.

Commissioner cites main service enhancements

Bisignano mentioned the SSA made “tremendous progress” throughout fiscal 2025 regardless of a authorities shutdown and longstanding operational challenges, crediting each profession workers and new management.

Telephone wait instances fall sharply

In accordance with the letter, common wait instances on the Nationwide 800 Quantity dropped to seven minutes in September, down from 28 minutes a 12 months earlier. The company reported dealing with 65% extra calls and resolving practically 90% of them by means of self-service or callbacks.

Mantell questioned whether or not the information displays precise buyer expertise. “Since most folks cannot talk to a rep directly, the call is answered by a robo tree quickly, making it seem like you get to talk to a real person with just a few minutes of wait time,” she mentioned.

“Many people instead opt for a callback, and there is no data on how fast the callbacks happen.”

Subject workplace wait instances enhance

Wait instances within the company’s 1,200 subject workplaces fell 27% up to now 12 months, from half-hour to 22 minutes. Clients with appointments waited a mean of six minutes.

Jim Blankenship, an authorized monetary planner with Blankenship Monetary Planning and creator of “A Social Security Owner’s Manual,” mentioned early indicators seem optimistic. “I’ve only heard from a very few folks who recently had interactions with the SSA, but those reports have been positive,” he mentioned. “I hope it’s the start of a trend.”

Mantell mentioned shorter waits could mirror diminished entry. “It’s also because you cannot just pop into an office any longer,” she mentioned. “Unless you have a pre-booked appointment, you can’t get help. And where is the data on how long it takes to secure an appointment? After a long wait for a callback, the last data from a couple of months ago was it takes about 30 days to get an appointment. That data seems to be missing.”

Martha Shedden, president and co-founder of the Nationwide Affiliation of Registered Social Safety Analysts, mentioned her group “welcomes continuing improvements in staffing and technology at the SSA that provide Americans with more personalized assistance, timely responses to their questions and resolutions with applications and claiming issues.”

SSA expands digital entry and modernization

Bisignano mentioned the company is enhancing cybersecurity, modernizing programs, and increasing digital entry. He additionally mentioned SSA programs are safe, countering what he described as “rampant misinformation” about information breaches.

Mantell pushed again. “I find it hard to believe the two former Commissioners who worked at the SSA for years are spreading rampant misinformation,” she mentioned. “And the whistleblower is in a position to know about the ‘copy of the master file’ that was copied to an outside the SSA server without proper oversight.”

The mySocialSecurity portal now operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week. It was beforehand offline 29 hours per week. On-line transactions rose 20% in 2025, and the company has set a purpose of 200 million account holders by 2026.

“But how many online accounts are set up now? 199 million?” Mantell mentioned. “More complete data, please.”

Incapacity backlogs shrink, however delays stay lengthy

The preliminary incapacity claims backlog fell from 1.26 million instances in June 2024 to 865,000, the bottom since 2022. Processing instances improved 13% to 209 days. Incapacity listening to wait instances additionally dropped by practically 60 days.

“It seems like the SSDI claims are moving in a positive direction, dropping from eight months to seven months to process a claim,” Mantell mentioned. “But while it shortens the number of days, isn’t seven months still a ridiculously long time to wait for an answer?”

Processing heart backlog drops

Pending actions in processing facilities fell from 6.2 million to about 5.2 million, a discount of practically 20%.

Corrective funds underneath the Social Safety Equity Act accomplished early

Underneath the brand new Social Safety Equity Act, the SSA issued greater than 3.1 million corrective funds, totaling $17 billion, to beneficiaries affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Authorities Pension Offset. Bisignano mentioned this work was accomplished 5 months forward of schedule.

“I can vouch for the quick resolution on the SSFA payments, at least with the clients I’ve spoken to about it,” Blankenship mentioned. “The lump-sum payments were quick and accurate with no issues.”

Renewed emphasis on SSI accuracy raises issues

The company created a brand new govt position to supervise the Supplemental Safety Earnings program and is increasing digital information verification to cut back improper funds.

Mantell mentioned an essential growth was not talked about. “There was no mention of increasing the garnishment of the lowest income folks’ payments,” she mentioned.

“If you don’t pay back any overpayment within 30 days, the SSA will automatically withhold 50% of someone’s regular retirement benefit or 10% of an SSI payment each month until the overpayment is repaid. Everyone had been eligible for 10% withholding when a mistake was made.”

Commissioner highlights alignment with President Trump

Bisignano mentioned the administration stays dedicated to defending Social Safety, together with a brand new provision he described as eliminating federal earnings taxes on advantages for practically all recipients. He additionally praised White Home help for ongoing modernization.

Mantell mentioned that description overstates the change. She famous that HR.1 didn’t get rid of federal taxation of Social Safety advantages. As a substitute, it created a short lived private deduction for older taxpayers.

“The new deduction is very specific,” Mantell mentioned. “Every individual age 65 or older gets an additional $6,000 deduction if their income falls under certain thresholds. You do not need to be collecting Social Security to take advantage of it.”

She added that the deduction doesn’t offset Social Safety advantages straight. “There is no dollar-for-dollar alignment with Social Security,” Mantell mentioned.

“Just like other deductions, you add up all of your income on the front of the 1040, then apply the standard deduction, and then apply up to the $6,000 special deduction. It reduces your total income, not just Social Security.”

The extra deduction can be utilized whether or not a filer itemizes or takes the usual deduction.

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