Social Security Reports a 75 Percent Reduction in National 800 Number Answer Wait Time

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has achieved its “best performance in history” in terms of customer service, with the average speed of answer while calling the national 800 number slashed by 75 percent, the agency said in a June 29 statement.The speed has been cut down to eight minutes in fiscal year (FY) 2026 from 34 minutes in FY 2024, Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a June 9 letter to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Committee on Appropriations. Meanwhile, the quantity of 800 number calls handled by agents and self-service jumped by almost 13 million during this period.SSA is currently serving almost 19 percent more callers at its local field offices. In addition to call wait times, other customer service metrics have shown a considerable improvement.Disability hearing wait times were reduced from 266 days to 90, hitting “historic lows.” The backlog of initial disability claims has been cut by more than 30 percent to 853,000 cases from a peak of almost 1.3 million.Moreover, SSA sent over 3.1 million payments worth $17 billion under the Social Security Fairness Act to eligible beneficiaries five months ahead of schedule. Pending actions at processing centers have fallen by 23 percent since March 2025.The reduction in overall wait times is estimated to save the public “nearly 40 million hours in time they would have waited for service compared to FY 2024,” the letter said.Improvements in the 800 number service are estimated to have saved customers 9.6 million hours. Customers calling and visiting field offices saved roughly 1.7 million hours. As for online services, savings are at 25.5 million hours.Earlier this year, the total number of “my Social Security” online accounts opened by customers surpassed 100 million.SSA expects the implementation of advanced technology, a flexible workforce, and effective management to enable the agency to serve around 100 million customers in total at the 800 number and field office phones this year.In its statement, SSA said the agency has saved $16 billion while ensuring better customer service.“Before I arrived, SSA had four different leaders in five months and was an agency in turmoil. Customers endured a failed service model. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are protecting and strengthening Social Security,” said Bisignano.“We are transforming SSA into a model of excellence, a digital-first agency that meets and exceeds customer expectations for timely, accurate service wherever they want to be met. In the last year, SSA has achieved historic results. We are delivering on the promise of Social Security for the more than 330 million Americans we serve.”Customer Service StaffingThe SSA data come after a group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Bisignano on March 15, raising concerns that “drastic staffing cuts and shortsighted staff reassignments” put at risk the agency’s ability to serve almost 75 million Social Security recipients properly.The letter alleged that SSA was reassigning employees with minimal training, “forcing them to go from more technical positions to customer-facing roles with only days’ notice.”“Your forced staff reassignments are harming Social Security beneficiaries, endangering the accuracy of claims, and wasting taxpayer dollars. When SSA pulls employees away from already understaffed field offices or from processing backlogs in claims, customer service and the timely delivery of benefits suffer,” the letter said.In Bisignano’s June 9 letter, the SSA commissioner said that the agency dedicated 23,000 staff members, amounting to half of the SSA’s total workforce, at field offices to handle service transactions.This was done despite field offices representing only 3 percent of transactions. “Still, recognizing the importance of in-person service, we have focused on deploying time-saving technology, better process engineering, and improving our people platform. We have kept every field office open and the president’s FY 2027 budget envisions every field office remaining open,” the letter said.Fund DepletionMeanwhile, the liquidity of the Social Security program has become a major concern. The Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which is used to make Social Security payments to millions of Americans, could run out by 2032 unless Congress takes action, the SSA said in a statement earlier this month.When the funds deplete by the fourth quarter of 2032, only 78 percent of the benefits will be payable at the time.Bisignano said that the SSA and lawmakers must “work together to ensure the trust funds continue to provide financial stability now and for future generations.”A June 11 projection released by the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimates OASI funds to deplete roughly a year later by 2033. At the time, only around 86 percent of the benefits would be payable, according to the model.