- Social Security beneficiaries now confront long waits for service on the phone and in person at the agency’s field offices.
- Behind the scenes, the agency’s workers face low staffing levels and overwhelming work loads, a union representing more than 40,000 employees said.
- Increased funding for the program, as well as stronger policies to help retain workers, may help, the union said.
Long wait times for beneficiaries seeking help from the Social Security Administration have become more common since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, even prompting a congressional hearing in 2022 to address the issue.
Beneficiaries who call the agency’s toll-free number may face hold times of more than 30 minutes, experts said Monday during a panel hosted by the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, a union representing more than 40,000 Social Security Administration employees.
Long lines and shortened hours are common at many of the agency’s field offices, where beneficiaries may seek in-person assistance, the union said. Last year, the agency, in response to lawmakers, outlined steps it planned to take to address those waits.
Applicants for disability benefits face waits of more than six months for decisions from the agency, the union said.
The service delays experienced by the program’s approximately 67 million beneficiaries are signs of “an agency in crisis,” according to Rich Couture, AFGE Council 215 president.
The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The agency “is in the midst of the worst public service crisis in memory caused by historic levels of employee attrition due to uncompetitive pay and benefits, exceedingly low employee morale, and overwhelming workloads,” Couture said at Monday’s panel.
AFGE leaders said the agency’s diminishing services have come amid funding constraints that have lasted for more than a decade.
White House funding proposal may not be enough
President Joe Biden has proposed a 10% increase in funding for Social Security with his fiscal 2024 budget to help improve customer service.
But while Biden is calling for $15.5 billion in funding for the agency, AFGE said it needs $2 billion more, or almost $17.5 billion.
Staffing is at the lowest level it has been since 2010, according to AFGE Council 220 President Jessica LaPointe.
Since 2010, the federal agency’s budget has fallen 14%, adjusted for inflation, Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., noted in 2022.
“As a result, the remaining employees are burned out,” LaPointe said. “The public is not getting timely services they desperately need.”
AFGE’s surveys show 76% of Social Security staffers say they have overwhelmingly large workloads that prevent them from performing their jobs to the best of their abilities. Meanwhile, 9 out of 10 workers know someone who has left their job due to overwhelming work-related stress.
Poor employee retention is causing public service to deteriorate, LaPointe said.
“Simply put, other employers offer better pay, benefits, telework and remote work options, upward mobility and support,” LaPointe said.
AFGE’s $17.39 billion budget proposal for 2024 would include 56%, or $9.62 billion, for employee salary and benefits; 17%, or $2.92 billion, for state Disability Determination Services; 16%, or $2.75 billion, for rent, equipment, furnishings, security guards and other items; and 11%, or $1.89 billion, for technology.
Beneficiaries deserve a Social Security system that works and that means a fully funded Social Security Administration.Linda Beneschcommunications director at Social Security Works
It would also include $100 million for employee retention pay, $90 million for mailed Social Security statements and $20 million for magnetometers, or metal detectors.
Biden’s budget request of 10% more for the Social Security Administration is the “absolute bare minimum that Congress needs to approve for SSA,” Linda Benesch, communications director at advocacy organization Social Security Works, said Monday.
“Beneficiaries deserve a Social Security system that works and that means a fully funded Social Security Administration,” Benesch said.
The agency would also benefit if Congress authorized the use of some of the money from the agency’s surplus, which totals about $2.8 trillion, Benesch said.
In a report released in September, the Social Security Advisory board, an independent federal government agency, encouraged the Social Security Administration to evaluate the quality and accessibility of its services.
AFGE is slated to soon begin negotiations to pursue changes, including more competitive pay, to help tackle the service delivery crisis, Couture said.
“Each experienced employee lost to attrition means more claims that go unprocessed, calls that go unanswered, and people who aren’t being served by the system they paid into when they need it,” Couture said.
