A Social Security Administration office in Sebring, Florida.
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The agency’s service difficulties date back to before the pandemic, said Maria Freese, senior lawmaker with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
“The Social Security Administration has been underfunded and understaffed for over a decade as demands on its services have increased,” Freese said.
What changes are to be expected in the social security offices
Social Security is now taking steps aimed at reducing their in-person wait times, especially in their busiest offices.
For offices that require trunks, Social Security provides access to bathrooms, water fountains, and in some cases, outdoor fans and canopies. The agency is also rearranging its waiting areas to allow more people access to its air-conditioned offices. It’s also expanding the use of mobile check-ins for appointments, allowing people to wait in their cars or other nearby locations.
In addition, they are working to expedite deadlines.
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These actions include referring clients either for quick express interviews or for appointments on the same day or in the future; Verifying that visitors have the required information and documents; Provision of mailboxes for documents; giving workload assignments to offices with fewer walk-in customers; assigning volunteers to busier offices; reinstatement of retired employees; Suspension of teleworking for some office workers; and increasing overtime hours for busy offices.
According to Freese, however, these all amount to “makeshift changes.” “We think the agency needs more money,” she said.
“The consequences of years of underfunding are finally manifesting themselves in an agency that appears dysfunctional to outsiders,” she said.
Which locations had the longest wait times?
In its response to congressional lawmakers, Social Security also released data on which locations were more likely to experience long waits from April through August.
“This weekly data shows that a very small percentage of our more than 1,200 branch offices had queues of 40 or more visitors,” Kijakazi said.
The number of locations with more than 40 people waiting outside at 9 a.m. was 216, with a total of 4,461 occurrences during those months.
The locations with the most occurrences (94) included Orlando, Carrollwood, Perrine and South Miami in Florida; the Twin Cities in Minnesota; southwest and northwest of Houston and Pasadena in Texas; and Las Vegas. Locations with 93 occurrences were Hialeah and Little Havana, both in Florida.
The number of sites where more than 40 people were waiting outside at 3:00 p.m. was far fewer (37), with a total of 341 occurrences.
The places with the most occurrences included Orlando with 40; Little Havana, 37; Perrin, 33; Southwest Houston, 31; Northwest and Southeast Houston, each with 27 in Texas; South Miami, 26; the Twin Cities, 23; and North Miami, 21, and South Broward in Florida, 13.
Recommended steps for better service
Social Security offices tend to be busiest in the mornings, early in the week and early in the month, Kijakazi said earlier this year when the offices reopened.
In the recent letter to Congress, Kijakazi also reiterated that people may find success faster if they meet their needs either online or over the phone.
Online services are available online at Socialsecurity.gov. By creating a My Social Security account, individuals can request a replacement Social Security card or SSA 1099 tax form, start or change direct deposits, or print or download a benefit letter.
Phone services also tend to be less busy at certain times. Wait times tend to be shorter before 10 a.m., after 4 p.m., later in the week or later in the month, Social Security said earlier this year.