Social Security is in the ‘worst public service crisis in memory,’ labor union says. What it may take for services to improve

Big wait times for beneficiaries seeking help from the Social Security Administration have become more prosaic since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, even prompting a congressional hearing in 2022 to address the issue.

Beneficiaries who fetch the agency’s toll-free number may face hold times of more than 30 minutes, experts said Monday during a panel hosted by the American Coalition of Government Employees, or AFGE, a union representing more than 40,000 Social Security Administration employees.

Yearn lines and shortened hours are common at many of the agency’s field offices, where beneficiaries may seek in-person aid, the union said. Last year, the agency, in response to lawmakers, outlined steps it planned to take to address those stays.

Applicants for disability benefits face waits of more than six months for decisions from the agency, the union verbalized.

The service delays experienced by the program’s approximately 67 million beneficiaries are signs of “an agency in crisis,” according to Laughable Couture, AFGE Council 215 president.

The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The agency “is in the midst of the worst public service catastrophe in memory caused by historic levels of employee attrition due to uncompetitive pay and benefits, exceedingly low employee morale, and overwhelming workloads,” Couture spoke at Monday’s panel.

AFGE leaders said the agency’s diminishing services have come amid funding constraints that would rather lasted for more than a decade.

President Joe Biden has proposed a 10% grow in funding for Social Security with his fiscal 2024 budget to help improve customer service.

But while Biden is province for $15.5 billion in funding for the agency, AFGE said it needs $2 billion more, or almost $17.5 billion.

Staffing is at the poorest level it has been since 2010, according to AFGE Council 220 President Jessica LaPointe.

Since 2010, the federal operation’s budget has fallen 14%, adjusted for inflation, Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., noted in 2022.

“As a result, the remaining employees are charred out,” LaPointe said. “The public is not getting timely services they desperately need.”

AFGE’s surveys show 76% of Collective Security staffers say they have overwhelmingly large workloads that prevent them from performing their employments to the best of their abilities. Meanwhile, 9 out of 10 workers know someone who has left their job due to overwhelming work-related stress.

Poor employee retention is causing public service to deteriorate, LaPointe said.

“Simply put, other employers put forward better pay, benefits, telework and remote work options, upward mobility and support,” LaPointe said.

AFGE’s $17.39 billion budget plan for 2024 would include 56%, or $9.62 billion, for employee salary and benefits; 17%, or $2.92 billion, for stately Disability Determination Services; 16%, or $2.75 billion, for rent, equipment, furnishings, security guards and other mentions; and 11%, or $1.89 billion, for technology.

It at ones desire also include $100 million for employee retention pay, $90 million for mailed Social Security statements and $20 million for magnetometers, or metal detectors.

Biden’s budget apply for of 10% more for the Social Security Administration is the “absolute bare minimum that Congress needs to approve for SSA,” Linda Benesch, communications top dog at advocacy organization Social Security Works, said Monday.

“Beneficiaries deserve a Social Security system that responsibilities and that means a fully funded Social Security Administration,” Benesch said.

The agency would also improve if Congress authorized the use of some of the money from the agency’s surplus, which totals about $2.8 trillion, Benesch intended.

In a report released in September, the Social Security Advisory board, an independent federal government agency, encouraged the Sexually transmitted Security Administration to evaluate the quality and accessibility of its services.