SSA’s sluggish response causes inevitable delays

Six months after reopening its field offices to the public, the Social Security Administration is struggling to restore basic customer services and is assisting millions fewer of the poor, elderly and disabled people who sought its help before the coronavirus pandemic, federal data shows. Even as prolonged office closures caused applications for disability benefits to plunge, the sluggish response now of the agency meant to assist the country’s most at-risk citizens has led to delays in processing claims for those who manage to file them, and exhausting waits outside government offices around the country for those trying to. Nearly 20 percent of field offices have had 40 or more customers in line on multiple days when the doors opened, according to data Social Security recently provided to Congress. The long queues have raised tempers and safety concerns. One person fainted in line outside the office in Laredo, Tex. Others in Florida slept outside overnight to secure a spot for the next morning. Social Security’s remedy is to push customers to get help by phone or online, but fast service using those options, for many, is proving just as elusive. From April, when the 1,230 local offices began to reopen, through mid-August, the number of people helped by Social Security staff members had dropped by 46 percent from the 43 million visitors served annually before the coronavirus struck, according to data Social Security officials shared with national disability advocates. Visits have edged up in recent weeks but remain well below pre-pandemic levels, according to internal agency data and congressional offices. Those seeking disability benefits are far more dependent on in-person visits than retirees and others needing service from Social Security, as they often lack phones or access to the internet and must turn over original birth certificates, driver’s licenses and other documents. The extreme measures required from them have deepened questions about the capacity of a major federal department that serves as the last lifeline for many Americans. With its offices closed, Social Security disability claimants have few places to turn