To cut down on long wait times for callers, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has temporarily moved about 1,000 customer service staff from field offices to its main 1-800 helpline. The idea is to improve response times for the millions who call each month, but critics, including SSA employees and policy experts, warn that shifting staff like this may end up making things worse elsewhere in the system.
A Short-Term Fix with Long-Term Impacts
Jessica LaPointe, who leads Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), has raised concerns about the move. She says the hotline plays an important role, but it’s more like a triage unit, it helps manage the flow, not actually solve the underlying issues or process claims.
“The 1-800 number—they do offer a critical role at the agency, but it’s triage, whereas customer service representatives actually clear work for the agency.” LaPointe told The Washington Post
With staffing already stretched thin, the agency is struggling to keep up with growing demand. LaPointe cautioned that moving field workers to phone duty will only make things worse, slowing down claims, piling up backlogs, and hitting staff morale even harder.
Mounting Pressures and Soaring Call Volumes
The SSA is dealing with a massive workload. In 2025, about 69 million people are set to receive monthly benefits adding up to around $1.6 trillion for the year. But while demand keeps rising, staffing levels have gone in the opposite direction.
The Washington Post reports that the SSA has lost thousands of workers in recent years, largely due to federal cost-cutting efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). At the same time, call volume has surged, rising from 6.6 million calls a month in early 2024 to over 8.6 million per month in the first half of 2025.
The surge in calls has caused wait times to climb sharply. During the early months of the Trump administration, callers were waiting an average of 93 minutes. By comparison, in the final stretch of President Biden’s term, the average wait time was about 75 minutes.
SSA’s Response: “Significant Progress” Claimed
Despite the ongoing issues, the SSA says it’s taking steps to fix things. In a recent statement, Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said shifting staff to the phones is part of a bigger plan to update how the agency works and improve service overall.
“My top priority is to transform SSA into a model of excellence—an organization that operates at peak efficiency and delivers outstanding service to every American,” Bisignano stated.
The move is expected to boost the number of phone agents by around 25%. According to SSA spokesperson Stephen McGraw, only about 4% of field office staff are being shifted, and the goal is to give the agency more flexibility to handle urgent service needs.
Looking Ahead: More Visits, Fewer Workers
The Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that staffing cuts and protocol changes at SSA have triggered nearly 2 million extra in-person visits each year, piling even more pressure on field offices that are already short-staffed. While the SSA insists it’s working to support its employees, LaPointe argues that words aren’t enough, real action is what’s needed.
“The solution is clear: hire more staff and treat SSA workers with the respect they deserve. Instead, the agency is forcing more workers to leave through arbitrary reassignments while simultaneously eliminating flexible schedules for teleservice centres. This will result in fewer agents available, increased leave usage and attrition, and deteriorating morale and customer service,” she said in an interview with Newsweek.
Conclusion
The SSA may be trying to improve its phone service, but critics say pulling staff from field offices just shifts the problem instead of fixing it. Without serious investment in hiring and modernizing the system, there’s growing concern that the country’s Social Security safety net will continue to be pushed to its breaking point.