Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano has sent an end-of-year letter to Congress describing what he called “significant progress” at the agency during fiscal 2025.

The letter highlights improvements in customer service, field office operations, online access, disability backlogs, payment accuracy, and program integrity.

But Social Security experts who reviewed the report say the claims deserve a closer look.

“With little historic data provided, it’s hard to say how ‘significant’ progress is,” said Marcia Mantell, president of Mantell Retirement Consulting and author of the forthcoming book “Social Security: Lightly Toasted, Not Burnt.”

“But it is nice to see the Commissioner recognizing the staff for the extremely difficult work environment they have been subjected to since the DOGE team came in to upend the department.”

Mantell said the letter is also notable for what it left out. “Are Americans getting excellent service with correct implementation of their benefits?” she asked.

“My clients are a 50/50. It took one field office over 70 days to process a simple Social Security initial claim and enroll her in Medicare. It was straightforward, she used the online application, and everything went missing. She spent hours on the phone trying to track her application down.”

She cited another case involving a client who needs Social Security and Medicare to begin in February 2026. “Social Security will be turned on then, but the new agent mistakenly enrolled her into Medicare A and B effective November 2025,” Mantell said.

“Now she’s got to pay her premium at work and pay her Part B premium. But Part B will be the secondary payer, if needed at all. So, due to ineffective training, she’s paying double for the same kind of insurance and can only use the employer plan.”

Mantell said the agency has also not addressed the damage caused by the DOGE program. “Concern over this program was already on the edge with the reserve account projections,” she said.

“But with unapproved and unmonitored access to every American’s data, consumers are extremely concerned. And claiming earlier than they should.”

The Social Security Administration says average wait times on its National 800 Number fell to seven minutes in September, down from 28 minutes a year earlier.

Commissioner cites major service improvements

Bisignano said the SSA made “tremendous progress” during fiscal 2025 despite a government shutdown and longstanding operational challenges, crediting both career staff and new leadership.

Phone wait times fall sharply

According to the letter, average wait times on the National 800 Number dropped to seven minutes in September, down from 28 minutes a year earlier. The agency reported handling 65% more calls and resolving nearly 90% of them through self-service or callbacks.

Mantell questioned whether the data reflects actual customer experience. “Since most folks cannot talk to a rep directly, the call is answered by a robo tree quickly, making it seem like you get to talk to a real person with just a few minutes of wait time,” she said.

“Many people instead opt for a callback, and there is no data on how fast the callbacks happen.”

Field office wait times improve

Wait times in the agency’s 1,200 field offices fell 27% in the past year, from 30 minutes to 22 minutes. Customers with appointments waited an average of six minutes.

Jim Blankenship, a certified financial planner with Blankenship Financial Planning and author of “A Social Security Owner’s Manual,” said early signs appear positive. “I’ve only heard from a very few folks who recently had interactions with the SSA, but those reports have been positive,” he said. “I hope it’s the start of a trend.”

Mantell said shorter waits may reflect reduced access. “It’s also because you cannot just pop into an office any longer,” she said. “Unless you have a pre-booked appointment, you can’t get help. And where is the data on how long it takes to secure an appointment? After a long wait for a callback, the last data from a couple of months ago was it takes about 30 days to get an appointment. That data seems to be missing.”

Martha Shedden, president and co-founder of the National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts, said her organization “welcomes continuing improvements in staffing and technology at the SSA that provide Americans with more personalized assistance, timely responses to their questions and resolutions with applications and claiming issues.”

SSA expands digital access and modernization

Bisignano said the agency is improving cybersecurity, modernizing systems, and expanding digital access. He also said SSA systems are secure, countering what he described as “rampant misinformation” about data breaches.

Mantell pushed back. “I find it hard to believe the two former Commissioners who worked at the SSA for years are spreading rampant misinformation,” she said. “And the whistleblower is in a position to know about the ‘copy of the master file’ that was copied to an outside the SSA server without proper oversight.”

The mySocialSecurity portal now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It was previously offline 29 hours per week. Online transactions rose 20% in 2025, and the agency has set a goal of 200 million account holders by 2026.

“But how many online accounts are set up now? 199 million?” Mantell said. “More complete data, please.”

Disability backlogs shrink, but delays remain long

The initial disability claims backlog fell from 1.26 million cases in June 2024 to 865,000, the lowest since 2022. Processing times improved 13% to 209 days. Disability hearing wait times also dropped by nearly 60 days.

“It seems like the SSDI claims are moving in a positive direction, dropping from eight months to seven months to process a claim,” Mantell said. “But while it shortens the number of days, isn’t seven months still a ridiculously long time to wait for an answer?”

Processing center backlog drops

Pending actions in processing centers fell from 6.2 million to about 5.2 million, a reduction of nearly 20%.

Corrective payments under the Social Security Fairness Act completed early

Under the new Social Security Fairness Act, the SSA issued more than 3.1 million corrective payments, totaling $17 billion, to beneficiaries affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. Bisignano said this work was completed five months ahead of schedule.

“I can vouch for the quick resolution on the SSFA payments, at least with the clients I’ve spoken to about it,” Blankenship said. “The lump-sum payments were quick and accurate with no issues.”

Renewed emphasis on SSI accuracy raises concerns

The agency created a new executive role to oversee the Supplemental Security Income program and is expanding electronic data verification to reduce improper payments.

Mantell said an important development was not mentioned. “There was no mention of increasing the garnishment of the lowest income folks’ payments,” she said.

“If you don’t pay back any overpayment within 30 days, the SSA will automatically withhold 50% of someone’s regular retirement benefit or 10% of an SSI payment each month until the overpayment is repaid. Everyone had been eligible for 10% withholding when a mistake was made.”

Commissioner highlights alignment with President Trump

Bisignano said the administration remains committed to protecting Social Security, including a new provision he described as eliminating federal income taxes on benefits for nearly all recipients. He also praised White House support for ongoing modernization.

Mantell said that description overstates the change. She noted that HR.1 did not eliminate federal taxation of Social Security benefits. Instead, it created a temporary personal deduction for older taxpayers.

“The new deduction is very specific,” Mantell said. “Every individual age 65 or older gets an additional $6,000 deduction if their income falls under certain thresholds. You do not need to be collecting Social Security to take advantage of it.”

She added that the deduction does not offset Social Security benefits directly. “There is no dollar-for-dollar alignment with Social Security,” Mantell said.

“Just like other deductions, you add up all of your income on the front of the 1040, then apply the standard deduction, and then apply up to the $6,000 special deduction. It reduces your total income, not just Social Security.”

The additional deduction can be used whether a filer itemizes or takes the standard deduction.

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