It’s not exactly breaking news that you are likely in for a long wait for service if you visit a Social Security office or call Social Security on the phone, but things seem to only be getting worse, not better.
The New York Times recently published a story not only identifying how bad the wait times are becoming, but also identifying the reasons behind it.
If you visited a Social Security office in 2018 you waited more than 26 minutes on average to see a claims representative, this is a 37 percent increase since 2010. Phone calls to Social Security were not any better, as about 15 percent of people who called Social Security’s toll-free number got a busy signal and were unable to talk to anyone.
Social Security employees are not blind to these facts. Even the office manager of Social Security’s Vancouver, Washington office, Christopher Detzler, was quoted in the story about the long wait times people face when they visit a Social Security office.
“People line up early at Social Security offices around the country,” he said. “Sometimes the lines wrap around the building, even for offices with more reasonable wait times.”
Despite employees being aware of the problem, there is little they can do about it. Social Security has closed 67 field offices since fiscal year 2010. Also since 2010, Congress has reduced Social Security’s operating budget by 9 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, but the number of beneficiaries increased by 17 percent over the same period.
There is no magical or even creative solution to solve this problem. There are less Social Security employees and more beneficiaries and people seeking services, so the wait times continue to get worse and not better. The complaining about wait times will likely continue, but until funding is increased all the complaining in the world won’t solve the problem.
