Wrong Time for Chaos at the SSA

Next month, the Social Security Trustees (identified in my February article) are due to release their annual report on the condition of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. Proponents and opponents of these programs always take this annual opportunity to offer good and bad proposals to ensure long-term solvency. If the report is issued on time, I’ll have an article in next month’s Retiree Advocate, including discussion of the proposals being offered in response to it.

This is the wrong time for the Social Security Administration (SSA), which secures and adjudicates benefit applications for SSA and Medicare, to be in chaos. It creates more opportunity for those who seek to further means-test Social Security or Medicare, to undermine the social insurance aspects of the programs, to privatize them, or to end them altogether.

On March 31, SSA announced that, for the second time this year, it was postponing the rollout of new national appointment and claims processing systems. Under these systems, appointments to file for benefits by phone and the processing of those claims would be distributed to employees through-out the U.S. without regard for the locations of the applicants. This is a clear threat to the continued existence of all 1200 community-based offices. We don’t know how state differences, such as those that govern marriages and the Supplemental Security Income program, would or could be handled by remote service. It is unclear how applicants could receive information and referrals for other community services from afar, an important field office function.

To add insult to injury, SSA Field Operations employees’ written performance expectations now include a commitment to help SSA meet its goal of a 50% reduction in field office visits this calendar year. They were also told to steer people to file their claims through the internet or by telephone, rather than by visiting their local office, starting in January. “Success” would surely mean that one-half of all SSA field office employees would soon be gone.

On April Fools' Day, Deputy Commissioner for Field Operations Andy Sriubas, was reassigned to a made-up new position, and replaced by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Thomas Holland. Both of them were new to SSA, and to public service in May 2025. In his only Agency Financial Report as CFO, for Fiscal Year 2025, Holland said, “As the Chief Financial Officer, I am working with our leadership team to drive change across the agency to significantly improve agency performance while reducing costs and providing our customers the highest quality of service. I am working closely with commissioner Bisignano to aggressively transform the agency into a premier service organization with best-in-class technology and digital service options.” These personnel changes appear to be a result of Deputy Commissioner Sriubas’ failure to make the above changes by the times promised. However, strong objections from disability advocates, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), and others may be slowing down the initiative as well. The public wants, and is best served by, community-based offices. However, public support for Social Security will dwindle with continued service deterioration.

Also on April Fools' Day, the President issued an executive order directing the SSA and the Department of Homeland Security to create a list of eligible voters for each state. The purpose is clearly to suppress the vote. Oregon is preparing a lawsuit to challenge this misuse of SSA records which, until DOGE accessed and copied them last year, were considered sacrosanct. Our own Lisa Dekker is leading the PSARA effort to get Washington State to respond as well. The public cares about the privacy of their personal information, and heretofore has trusted SSA to protect it. That trust has been broken.

On April 6, the President’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2027 (10/2026-9/2027 was released. It calls for flat funding of SSA administration at $14.7 billion, with a $600 million increase for Information Technology, and a $367 million payroll cut. SSA Commissioner Bisignano had requested $14.9 billion.

In written hearing testimony to the Senate Budget Committee on March 25, American Federation of Government Employees SSA Field Operations Council President, Jessica LaPointe, wrote that Bisignano has declared a “digital first” strategy and described artificial intelligence (AI) as a “great enabler.” An AI-powered phone bot now greets every caller to the 800 number. She noted that a March 2006 study by the American Association of People with Disabilities revealed that adding AI has made access especially difficult for those who struggle to use technology or have cognitive or psychiatric disabilities. The AI system cannot handle complex or individualized questions. Advocates report that even they have difficulty getting past it and to a live agent.

Jessica informed the Budget Committee that SSA implemented automated adjudication of Internet Medicare benefit applications in December 2025, and plans to add Internet Retirement applications in April 2026. She endorsed the NASI SSA AI Task Force principles that human decision-making be prioritized, that AI not be used to limit applicants’ rights, that bias be prevented, and fairness improved. SSA is failing them all.

Jessica commented, as well, on an “independent” SSA Inspector General Report that was later altered by SSA to exclude information about toll-free number wait times as perceived by callers (46-120 minutes or more). SSA

reports wait times under 10 minutes by excluding calls never answered, busy signals, and delayed call-backs or no call-backs, when caller messages are left. If and when a caller does reach a live agent, employees report that they are expected to complete the call in 5 minutes. SSA has assigned thousands of employees who process benefit applications to work the 800 number, which results in record backlogs that generate more calls.

As a retired 42-year SSA field office Claims Representative, it hurts me to hear what employees and SSA clients who rely on Social Security, Medicare, and SSI, must deal with today. It angers me that SSA’s “aggressive transformation” threatens to destroy our 90+ year old social insurance system.