By Katherine Rodriguez
nj.com
(TNS)
The Social Security Administration is making “significant progress” toward a “digital-first” platform that will serve its beneficiaries.
Social Security Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano briefed the Social Security Advisory Board on Jan. 7, 2026, highlighting significant customer service improvements over the past year.
Those improvements include 65% more calls answered in fiscal year 2025 compared to 2024, a 33% reduction in backlog of disability claims and the completion of $17 billion in Social Security Fairness Act payments five months ahead of schedule, according to the agency.
“The American people are experiencing a Social Security Administration that has been transformed through digital innovation and strategic process engineering to deliver best-in-class service,” Bisignano said.
What improvements to Social Security have been made on the digital front and otherwise?
The agency now provides Americans with 24/7 access to their personal my Social Security accounts after previously having the website down 29 hours per week, according to the Social Security Administration.
Call volume increased by 65% in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024, and technology improvements have enabled 90% of calls to be resolved through self-service or convenient callbacks.
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Plus, the average answering speed for the National 800 Number has dropped to single digits.
Average wait times for visitors at field offices decreased by nearly 30% from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025, with appointment holders waiting an average of six minutes.
The pending inventory of initial disability claims went down by 33% from an all-time high of 1.26 million claims in June 2024, according to the SSA.
The Social Security Administration also sent more than 3.1 million payments totaling over $17 billion to beneficiaries eligible under the Social Security Fairness Act, five months ahead of schedule.
Photo credit: Douglas Rissing/iStock
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©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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