From HuffPost:
… In an internal memo to operations employees obtained by HuffPost, a Social Security official said the agency has received more retirement claims than in any previous year, thanks in part to the ongoing retirement of baby boomers.
The backlog has grown to 575,000 pending retirement claims, with more than 140,000 of those pending for more than 60 days.
“I am calling for a sprint – a focused, concerted effort in all offices beginning today and lasting through the end of May – to address this growing backlog of pending retirement and survivor claims in our field offices and Workload Support Units,” Stephen Evangelista, deputy commissioner for operations, wrote in the email.
“I am calling for all offices to do their very best to increase their [Retirement, Survivors, Health Insurance] clearances by at least 10 percent daily through the end of May,” Evangelista wrote. …
HuffPost asked the Social Security press office if, in light of the retirement claims backlog and the request for SSA employees to work harder, laying off those employees might have been a mistake. The agency did not immediately respond. …
Sounds like it’s time for Stephen to quit writing the world’s worst songs and learn how to process retirement claims.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if we teleworked we could get this done, Stephen. Words or encouragement go only so far when I’m stuck in traffic an hour each way. I mean if ALJs and OHO can telework virtually the entire month, why can’t we?
ReplyDeleteOMG enough with your “knowledge” of what’s going on at OHO. OHO does NOT fully work at home, Judges do NOT fully telework. OHO has been hit just as hard as the rest of the government so stop resenting your colleagues for the pittance they receive and start placing your loathing comments towards the people who put us ALL in this mess.
Deletethe time it takes you to get to work doesnt count for your work day, its still 8 hours. I guess you want every single worker in the US not to commute? C'mon man!
Delete9:56: I believe what they’re saying is that they could work overtime or work to earn leave, but their ability to do so is limited because the time they would spend working above their 40 (actually 42.5 including lunch) hour week is now spent commuting to and from the office.
DeleteBut carry on with your absurd interpretation and don’t let reason get in the way of your Fox News straw-man bashing talking point.
I have a brilliant idea for Stephen DOGE Evangelista! Why not bring back 10% of the staff you helped let go and we would be in a better position to meet the agency goals. The FAA saw their error and brought back seasoned air traffic controllers with open arms. There is even talk of increasing the mandatory retirement age to incentivize their return.
ReplyDeleteEvangelista said all the right things a couple of weeks ago when he had his opening meeting with Operations employees. However, this memo proves he is tone deaf and clueless. Typical SSA exec asking everyone to do more without any additional resources while also meeting 50 other “critical” goals.
ReplyDeleteCompletely tone deaf. Hopefully someone in power will mention Dudek”s completely unnecessary 3-day hold on claims as a contributing factor. Technicians have to touch cases multiple times before adjudication, and the identified potential “fraud” cases are less than 1%.
ReplyDeletearticle on the 3-day hold and other issues https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2025/05/doge-went-looking-phone-fraud-ssa-and-found-almost-none/405346/?
DeleteAs a field office employee for 25 years - this is laughable . If we get close to that 10% - then June will be a dash to make up what we had to give up in May . We can’t even keep appts available for 2 months .
ReplyDeleteThe agency and all agencies really, are in deep trouble without a doubt. No matter who inherited this mess at SSA, they would be facing what Evangelista is facing. I actually feel sorry for him being in a no win situation. The focus needs to be on service to the general public, who need our energy and dedication the most. Also, those workers still in limbo about possible RIFs because there is not a lot of real work getting done. The agency is a prison now, and I have no idea how the country overall, rebounds from this dysfunction and carnage.
ReplyDeleteThis is the new norm. Becoming even more understaffed, those that are left will be just moving from one fire to the next fire as something becomes more critical than the last thing that was critical. Its not a good business model. Its even worse for a government agency that is delivering money and entitlement to health insurance. There is no way for this to get better, it can only get worse. Todays levels will be looked at as a benchmark to get back to at some point. Key point, file at the earliest possible date to ensure you have a chance of your claim being processed before your actual last day at work.
ReplyDeleteWow. How insulting. It’s giving “we cut staff just for the sake of saying we did, and now that we’re seeing the effects of that, despite the warnings of being at a long term staffing low, we should just magically do more.” Give me a break. This admin pushed for staff reductions and thought ending my telework was the panacea to service delays. They can own this backlog.
ReplyDelete“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.”
ReplyDeleteIf only there was some way of figuring out when people might file for benefits. It's too bad the Agency doesn't have access to data like birthdates, earnings records, and calendars to help ensure sufficient staffing to meet the demands of the public.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about sarcasm is for it to work it has to be based in truth. The agency does not dictate staffing levels. Congress approves the budget, the potus declared the hiring freeze, the agency just has to work with what it is given to work with. Name one single business, that services 340.1 Million people with a staff of 50,000. Name one company that makes monthly payments to 69 million people every single month. I suggest you purchase a glass belly button so you can see out to the facts of what the agency can and cannot do.
DeleteCranial rectal inversion does not meet a listing btw. It is a common condition these days, unfortunately.
DeleteTime to quit playing fake civil war soldier and "author" on the weekends and start working that OT, Stephen! Everyone has to do their part!
ReplyDeleteAsking him to actually work? Good luck. Getting him to actually do something would be a miracle on the magnitude of the parting of the Red Sea!
DeleteEvangelista might suggest what other workloads to ignore during the race to clear claims. Production really is a zero sum exercise.
ReplyDeleteOur FO, and the Area as a whole, is in dire need of support. We have no or very limited support or guidance from any Regional, if we even have one, or HQ staffs. We have systems issues, programmatic issues and physical site support issues that are not being addressed since those staffs responsible are no longer there. If we get someone on the phone, we are being told no one knows who is doing what, where it is being done from or when it will be handled. Issues are critical and will soon flash into a catastrophic ceasing of internal operations. Bottom line is after staffs/employees being decimated, there is no one left to process those awards or any other workloads. Overtime only works for a very short time, as employees are not machines and burn out.
ReplyDeleteJust waiting for DOGE to start contracting out claim processing to Prudential, Met Life...
ReplyDeleteThey should have outside contractors for the payment center. Do you know how long it takes for my firm to get paid?
DeleteAnd they work from home!
DeleteAfter they nuked all the regional OHO offices prepare to wait years for your fees….our firm knows anything going to an RO for a fee over 15k is pretty much a write off at this point.
DeleteFo manager - we got this great OT and turned out to be only a fair amount - roughly 30-40% what we would get . No one wants to work it now . My remaining staff is burnt out and the post above is correct . Little to no support , severely reduced staff, missing knowledgeable employees . I suspect stats will continue to plummet
ReplyDeleteAnd it plays right into Project 25's folks who are hell bent on closing all offices, RIFing everyone and contracting out all Social Security work to private industry.
DeleteNo problem, Stevie.
ReplyDeleteI'll just do 10% less work on my disability applications. You should have no problem with that, right? Since we're just reallocating resources?
Dudek and now Stephen? You're running out of agency fall guys pretty quickly there Frankie.
ReplyDeleteProcedures implemented by the
ReplyDeleteDepartment of Government Efficiency uncovered just two of
110,000 calls to the Social Security Administration this
spring had a "high probability" of being fraudulent, Federal Computer Week reported
That is a far cry from the 40 percent figure that was parroted by MAGA in recent months including by DOGE's recently
departed leader, Elon Musk, and Vice President JD Vance.
The real figure is about .0018 percent.
Most of the pending claims are Future Month trigger cases. After June 7th you’ll see them adjudicated.
ReplyDeleteIf this is the case, why is stephen asking us to work harder to clear things. Should he know that these are set to Auto adjudicate?
Delete