Nearly a year after significant staff reductions, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is continuing efforts to stabilize operations and improve service delivery amid ongoing workforce shortages. Following the departure of approximately 7,800 employees, the agency remains challenged in providing timely assistance to beneficiaries, according to current and former SSA workers.

The cuts have affected most of the SSA’s roughly 1,200 field offices nationwide, with many losing at least 10% of their staff, an analysis from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 220 found. In response, the agency has shifted personnel from other roles, including reassigning field office employees to handle the busy 800 number hotline, seeking to reduce long wait times experienced by callers. As of early July, around 1,500 field workers had been moved to telephone service duties, part of a broader redeployment of 2,500 employees.

Internal data shows some progress in call center performance, with the average time to answer phone calls dropping from 11 minutes last year to five minutes in May. However, these improvements partly reflect changes in how wait times are measured, including counting scheduled callbacks as zero wait. While the updated phone system and staff realignment have lessened wait times, they have also limited the availability of in-person and phone appointment slots. For example, only 64.6% of initial claim appointments were scheduled within 30 days as of early July, down from 78.1% a year earlier, with some regions experiencing rates below 45%.

The redeployment strategy has led to additional operational strains. Union representatives report that workers assigned to the 800 number lose valuable time needed for processing other workloads, disrupting overall productivity. Frontline employees also highlight growing workloads and reductions in flexible work arrangements, contributing to fatigue and demoralization within the ranks. “The look on everybody’s faces is they’re beat down, they are demoralized, they’re tired,” said Chris Delaney, a local union president and claims specialist.

Commissioner Frank Bisignano, who took office in May 2023, has emphasized the agency’s focus on technological upgrades and process improvements. He testified that the SSA has made strides in reducing processing backlogs and shortening wait times for scheduled field office visits. Agency spokesperson Barton Mackey highlighted ongoing hiring efforts aligned with goals to modernize service delivery across all channels.

Among the SSA’s plans are initiatives to centralize customer service appointment scheduling at a national level, currently being piloted in Tennessee and Nevada, to improve efficiency. At the same time, the agency aims to reduce in-person visits by encouraging more online transactions for routine services such as replacement cards. Bisignano has assured that no field offices will be closed, preserving options for beneficiaries to seek assistance in person if preferred.

Additional efforts include automating certain Medicare claim processes and enhancing beneficiary access to case status information. While these changes have received cautious approval from some advocates, disability and low-income beneficiary groups remain vigilant. They warn that some populations with more complex needs risk encountering difficulties amid a shift toward automation and remote interactions, especially in a workforce still recovering from substantial cuts.

“It is impossible to lose that many people in that haphazard of a manner without an impact on services,” said Devin O’Connor, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The timing and extent of such impacts, he noted, remain uncertain as the agency works to balance modernization with the demands of a diverse beneficiary base.