The Office of Inspector General (OIG), which oversees the operation of the Social Security Administration, analyzed the key factors as to why Social Security customers have to wait so long for service.
According information from the OIGs website, your average Social Security customer had to wait about 25 minutes before a Social Security employee could address their needs at a field office in 2017. This was an increase from 2016 when a customer had to wait about 19 minutes. The average wait time did not address the different times people decided to visit a Social Security office. For example, offices are always busiest at the beginning of a month and on Mondays compared to later in the week. Additionally, the OIG reported that more than 4 million customers waited for more than an hour for services.
The OIG report identified a hiring freeze at Social Security from 2010 to 2013 as a major source of the increased wait times as well as a lack of operational funding, which has continued to plague the agency. This lack of funding has resulted in the closing of field offices, so the offices that remain open today are seeing an increase in customers. Not only are there less offices to visit, but also less hours. According to information from the OIG, “limited funding contributed to the decision to close field offices 30 minutes earlier every day in 2011, and closing offices at noon on Wednesdays in 2013.”
The OIG insists that Social Security is trying to improve customer service, but with a lack of funding still a problem, the steps the agency plans to take seem futile in solving this problem. There will continue to be massive wait times at field offices and for customers who try to reach a Social Security employee by phone.
