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The Social Security Administration (SSA) has decided to move around one thousand in-person service workers to reinforce its main 1-800 phone line.
The idea, in theory, is to shorten wait times for callers, but many people (including employees and several experts) aren’t so sure. In fact, some believe this “quick fix” will
cause more problems than it solves.
A change that doesn’t seem like a solution
Jessica LaPointe, who represents SSA workers in the AFGE union, explained it this way: the phone line works like triage in an emergency room, but it doesn’t resolve or process claims, it just organizes them, because that part is done by the field office representatives.
“They serve a critical function, yes. But they don’t process the cases. And now, by pulling them from their posts, everything slows down even more”.
Staffing has been tight for a while, and if you remove people from offices to put them on the phones, it’s only logical that the paperwork will pile up, payments will slow down, and workers’ morale will take another hit.
High demand, low staff… and call volumes through the roof
In 2025 alone, the SSA has to handle monthly payments for over 69 million people. The total annual amount will be around 1.6 trillion dollars, but the problem is that while the workload keeps growing, fewer people are working in the offices.
The agency has lost thousands of workers in recent years due to the cuts pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). On top of that, there’s another issue: call volume keeps rising. In 2024, they received around 6.6 million calls per month; in 2025, it’s already over 8.6 million a month!!
The result? Endless wait times. At the beginning of Trump’s current presidency, the average wait time was 93 minutes. In comparison, during Biden’s last months in office, it hovered around 75 minutes. And it’s not getting better.
The official version: it’s all part of a modernization
Despite the criticism, the SSA insists it is taking action. Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano says this is part of a broader plan to modernize the system and provide better service.
“My priority is to transform the SSA into a model of efficiency and citizen service”.
The change represents a 25% increase in the number of agents handling calls. And according to spokesperson Stephen McGraw, only 4% of office staff have been moved. The idea, they say, is to have more flexibility to handle emergencies without leaving other areas unattended… really?
What now?
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) warns that these cuts and protocol changes are causing about 2 million extra in-person visits per year. And all this with offices that were already short-staffed.
LaPointe, from the union, is clear: more hiring and better conditions are needed. Because while these staff relocations are being improvised, flexible schedules are also being eliminated, and pressure is increasing on those who remain. “This will only lead to more resignations, fewer available workers, and an even bigger drop in service quality. You can’t keep stretching the rope”.
At the limit
Moving employees to the phone line might ease the call backlog a bit, but at the cost of neglecting other areas… And as long as there’s no real investment in staff and technology, the Social Security system will remain on the brink of collapse. Because no matter how much they try to dress it up, what’s missing is people to do the work. And that can’t be fixed with quick fixes!
Key ideas:
- SSA moved 1,000 workers to the call center to cut wait times.
- Calls jumped to 8.6 million a month in 2025.
- Wait times? Now over 90 minutes.
- SSA calls it “modernization” but workers call it a mess.
- Without more staff, things will only get worse.
