From AARP:
When Jim Sauer read the letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) in October 2021, he was puzzled. Because he was claiming benefits a year after his full retirement age, he was expecting bigger payments than what the SSA said he would receive. So Sauer called the Social Security office near his home in Fairfield Township, Ohio, to address the problem. But after 12 conversations with local SSA customer service representatives and two calls to the agency’s national call center, Sauer remained not only puzzled but also frustrated.
“It’s not just the issues themselves,” says Sauer, a former career employee at a Fortune 500 company who worked in international finance. “It’s when you call, you wait on hold forever. And then when you finally get ahold of someone, they seemingly just don’t care about helping you and are highly unqualified to answer your questions or to lead you to where you could get answers.” ...
As with most things, customer service issues are tied in large part to money. Since 2010, the SSA’s operating budget — set each year by Congress — has declined by 13 percent and its staff by 12 percent, while the number of Social Security beneficiaries has increased 22 percent, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. ...
12 comments:
"As with most things, customer service issues are tied in large part to money. Since 2010, the SSA’s operating budget — set each year by Congress — has declined by 13 percent and its staff by 12 percent, while the number of Social Security beneficiaries has increased 22 percent, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities"
That's the bottom line. Reopening the FOs will not improve customer service. Hiring more people and providing hands-on training is the only solution.
For that, the agency needs a massive increase to its budget. Call your Congressperson!
In a nutshell did this NH select the wrong MOE during his interview ... get some retro rather than DRC's ? His award letter included appeal rights. Did he avail himself of them?
Honestly, it has always sucked. Now it just sucks more.
Wow, I cut the budget and staffing levels a decade before the boomers retired and now service sucks? Guess it's time to privatize.
DRC's pay the January amount
Computations can be extremely complex, it is often unreasonable to expect someone instantly come up with the correct answer based on a phone call.
When I get a reconsideration request, I can analyze the issue, find all related documents, and research POMS if necessary. Not so when I'm answering a verbal question.
@6:44
You are absolutely correct. When someone has a complex question about their claim, it can be to the claimant’s advantage to just file the appeal and have someone else take a detailed look at the case.
That’s why almost every determination that is made by the agency contains appeal language if the claimant disagrees with the decision.
Please don’t just take someone’s word over the phone (or in the office) for that matter that they resolved the issue.
Please write down the date you talk to someone along with their name and title within the agency.
This is for your own peace of mind and really should be common practice at this point given all the allegation poor service.
If you call or come into my office alleging someone messed up your case, please be able to tell me who it is so I can have them held accountable.
What is the incentive to care? More pay? No. What does management want? They want you to answer more calls. Quantity. What happens to quality? Who the hell cares, it's not measureable.
What happens when more time is spent on a call? Management gives you a bad annual review. So what's the incentive? Just hang up the call and get the next one.
4:52. Privitization isn't the answer. Have you ever tried to get phone help from your bank? Credit card? I have had 7 phone calls last week trying to get some help on a credit card issue which no one in Manilla can help me on (believe me, I spoke to all of them) and no one can tell me how to appeal the issue.
"Since 2010, the SSA’s operating budget — set each year by Congress — has declined by 13 percent and its staff by 12 percent, while the number of Social Security beneficiaries has increased 22 percent"
This is all you need to know. And thankfully, now that inflation's in the Zeitgeist something heavy, people will actually appreciate the nuance of "budget declined over time when adjusting for inflation" that usually doesn't hit with the masses.
Until our Congress decides to fund (and thus staff) SSA appropriately to handle all the work it is charged to do by the Congress, it won't do that work either well and/or timely. There's no other variables in the equation lurking to change the result. And it's silly to talk about anything in terms of helping SSA if the first point of discussion isn't a much bigger budget. Everything else is fairytale land.
3:15 7 calls, wait till you have to deal with SSA, you would pray for it to be just 7 calls.
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