On Wednesday, the Social Security Administration announced a major update to its technological advancements as part of its larger mission to modernize the agency, which is led by new Commissioner Frank Bisignano.
“Our vision is centered on providing outstanding service that works for everyone we serve—whether they call, walk into a field office, or choose to manage their benefits online,” said Bisignano in a written statement. “We are transforming the customer experience by investing in technology to increase front-line capacity and using real-time data to monitor overall performance. We are providing higher levels of customer service, and this will continue.
Why It Matters
Approximately 69 million people receive Social Security benefits each month.
Since President Donald Trump took office again, the SSA has been undergoing restructuring, with thousands of employees leaving due to cost-cutting initiatives implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
What to Know
The SSA announced that it had implemented new telephone technology on the national 800 number and in its field offices. According to the SSA, this resulted “in improved service to the American people,” according to its release.
Specifically, the SSA is handling more calls with faster response times. Last week, the agency handled nearly 1.3 million calls on the national 800 number, a 70 percent increase from the same week last fiscal year.
The average response time dropped to 6 minutes from 30 minutes last year.
Field office wait times have also decreased. Last year, the average wait time was 30 minutes; now, Americans are only waiting 23 minutes.
The agency also ended its long-standing scheduled downtime of 29 hours per week for the my Social Security Portal. The SSA reported that 125,000 additional customers were able to access their online accounts in just the first week.
Despite these advancements, some experts have raised concerns about the technology upgrades, particularly as the SSA faces a funding crisis that is expected to occur as early as the 2030s.
“This modernization occurs as Social Security faces its worst funding crisis in decades. The trustees projected in 2024 that the program’s combined retirement and disability trust funds would last until 2035,” Michael Ryan, a finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek.
“Think about it. The agency is investing millions of dollars in new technology despite knowing that it may only be able to pay 83 cents on the dollar in ten years. “It’s like remodeling the kitchen while the house is on fire.”
In recent months, the SSA announced that it would send 3.1 million payments to recipients eligible under the Social Security Fairness Act ahead of schedule.
This law allowed public sector employees, such as teachers and firefighters, to receive money they were owed but had previously been denied due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset.
The SSA also reported that the disability backlog has decreased to 940,000 pending cases, down from more than 1.2 million last year.
What People Are Saying
SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement: “Our strategy is clear: serve customer needs quickly and completely, no matter how they contact us. We will continue to evaluate our tools, technology, and processes to empower our workforce to provide best-in-class customer service to the American people.”
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: “What beneficiaries need to understand is this: Every ‘modernization’ is really a cost-cutting measure disguised as improvement. Those electronic signatures and digital uploads? They’re not about your convenience; they’re about reducing the army of federal workers processing your paperwork. It just means more automated screening, more delays, and fewer real people to talk to when things go wrong.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “For beneficiaries, it’s a positive sign, as reports like this indicate it should be much quicker to get support over the phone or online. However, for the employees of the administration, this could further strain their workforce which is having to take on more tasks in an already heavy schedule. The hope is there can be a balance found in the long-term aspect where both sides can benefit from the new set-up.”
Drew Powers, the founder of Illinois-based Powers Financial Group, told Newsweek: “All service types—internet, phone, and in-person have had tech and process updates to expand service hours and speed up response times. These updates are woefully overdue and welcomed by all seniors and their caretakers.”
What Happens Next
The SSA also alerted recipients to another change heading their way in the fall. Starting September 30, the SSA will no longer issue paper checks for benefit payments.
