The Social Security Administration (SSA) has the important task of administering assistance to Social Security recipients.
However, this isn’t their only job. They also handle a variety of other tasks concerning related programs and personal information for millions of people.
While the organization recently mentioned some digital improvements it had made despite a tough few years, are these changes enough to make the organization efficient for those who rely on it?
Examining Digital Improvements at the SSA
These digital improvements by the SSA were mentioned in a recent article by Newsweek. Some key achievements and noteworthy statistics include:
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Round-the-clock account access. Americans can now log into their personal Social Security accounts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Prior service limits left the system unavailable for more than a full day each week.
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Improved call responsiveness. The number of calls successfully answered increased by roughly 65 percent in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024.
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Faster phone support. Average response times for the national Social Security 800 number have dropped to single-digit minutes.
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Greater self-service efficiency. Customers resolved about 90 percent of incoming calls through automated self-service options or scheduled callbacks, reducing the need for long hold times.
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Shorter field office waits. In-person wait times at Social Security field offices fell by nearly 30 percent from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025.
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Quick assistance for appointments. Visitors with scheduled appointments wait an average of just six minutes before being helped.
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Disability claims backlog reduced. The pending inventory of disability claims has declined by approximately one-third from its peak of 1.26 million cases in June 2024.
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Early benefit payments delivered. Over 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion were issued under the Social Security Fairness Act—arriving five months ahead of the original schedule.
These are some very important achievements. Given the SSA’s mixed reputation for service quality, it’s good to see they’re making progress. But are these changes enough? Share your thoughts with us! What are your experiences with the SSA?
Also, if you want to help us protect Social Security benefits, sign our petition here.
