We are providing data about our performance in serving the public through answering phone calls to our local field offices using the SSA's national Field Office Network Enterprise telephone system. Phone service is a popular way for many people to ask questions and conduct business with us. We use several measures to monitor our performance and the public can use the information about our performance to understand the service they are likely to receive. During the current coronavirus pandemic, we continue to provide help to you and other people in your communities. While our offices are not providing service to walk-in visitors due to COVID-19, we remain ready and able to help you by phone with most Social Security business.
You can speak with a representative by calling your local Social Security office or our National 800 Number. You can find local office phone numbers online by using our Social Security Office Locator at /locator. This online tool allows you to obtain financial planning information as well as complete transactions. If you're not receiving benefits, through the portal you can request a replacement Social Security card, review your earnings history and see an estimate of your future Social Security benefits.
You can also compare benefit amounts depending on what age you start receiving them and, when the time comes, apply for retirement benefits. Long before the pandemic, Social Security was trimming the number of field offices, and closed 67 around the country beginning in 2010. That move concerned consumer advocates, especially from an equity and access standpoint.
Yet even as Covid-19 cases decline and businesses and other public places reopen around the country, the timeline for a full reopening of the office network is uncertain. The agency is slowly bringing back workers in accordance with safety guidelines established by the federal government. The SSA has yet to announce when field offices will reopen for walk-in service. In-person visits can be arranged, by appointment, in what Social Security calls "limited, critical situations" involving benefit issues that cannot be resolved by phone, mail or online.
You may also be able to schedule a visit to correct or update personal information attached to your Social Security number, such as your name or citizenship status. We are constantly expanding our online service offerings to give you freedom and control in how you wish to conduct business with Social Security. Today, you can apply for benefits, check the status of your claim or appeal, request a replacement Social Security card , get an instant benefit verification letter, and much more. If you get Social Security benefits or have Medicare, you can change your address online. To make the change online, you must first create a personal my Social Security account. You may also call or visit a local office to make the change.
Payments to the 69 million-plus Social Security beneficiaries won't be affected by the field-office shutdown. On federal holidays, you will not be able to speak to a live agent, as Social Security personnel get the day off, but you can access some services using the SSA's automated phone system. This dataset provides information at the national level by month for federal fiscal years 2013 and onward for answer rate and busy rate for calls to our field offices. Maintaining adequate staffing and the ability to replace losses is the largest factor affecting the services we provide to the public. Social Security employees occasionally contact people by telephone for customer service purposes. In only a few special situations, such as when you have business pending with us, a Social Security employee may request the person confirm personal information over the phone.
You can apply online for disability benefits at You will be able to answer all the questions yourself and can save the application in the middle of the process to come back to it later before submitting it. If you are requesting a new card, you must apply by mail or in person at a Social Security office. If you need a replacement card and are a U.S. citizen age 18 or older with valid state-issued identification, you can also apply online using your "my Social Security account." All eligible Social Security Number and Benefits applicantsmustapply by mail. The time from when we receive your application by mail to return delivery is generally four to five weeks. If you need assistance that is not available via our online services, the fastest way to obtain service is to contact us by telephone through the toll free number.
If an additional interview is necessary, we can make an appointment for you with a local FO at a time convenient for you. SSA field and local offices have been closed since the start of the pandemic, though members of the public can make an appointment with the agency for "dire-need" requests. When Social Security offices are fully reopened, if you can't resolve your problem or find the information you need on the website or over the phone, you can go to one of the field offices . In some cases—if you need to request a Social Security card or update certain kinds of personal information—you may have to visit an office. If you plan to retire soon, apply for your retirement benefits at least three months in advance. Make an appointment with the Social Security Office and bring your Social Security card, birth certificate, and most recent W-2 form or tax return if you are self-employed.
If the benefits are for dependent children, bring their birth certificates. If you are applying for benefits based on your husband or ex-husband's employment record, bring your marriage license and his Social Security Number. Bring your bank account number if you would like the benefits deposited directly into your account. We urge you to always be cautious and to avoid providing sensitive information such as your Social Security number or bank account information to unknown individuals over the phone or internet.
If you receive a call and aren't expecting one, you must be extra careful. You can always get the caller's information, hang up, and—if you do need more clarification—contact the official phone number of the business or agency that the caller claims to represent. Never reveal personal data to a stranger who called you. If you have questions or issues about your retirement Social Security benefits, or you need to schedule an appointment, then call the Chattanooga Social Security Office listed below. The Tennessee SSA handles several federal programs such as retirement, SSI, Medicare and disability benefits. You can apply in-person at your local Social Security office.
It is recommended that you call ahead and make an appointment at your local office to avoid a long waiting time. To find your local office in your state, check out our Social Security Offices page. If you are receiving benefits, along with requesting a replacement Social Security card or Medicare card, you can get a benefit verification or proof of income letter, change your address and set up or change direct deposit. You can also get a replacement Social Security 1099 form (SSA-1099) and opt-out of certain mailed notices.
In March, the average wait time was 13.6 minutes, down from an average of 23.6 minutes for all of 2018, the year when backups peaked. If you have questions or issues about your retirement Social Security benefits, or you need to schedule an appointment, then call the Moore Social Security Office listed below. The Oklahoma SSA handles several federal programs such as retirement, SSI, Medicare and disability benefits. Whatever the status of your local office and whatever the day or time, you can securely access many SSA services with an onlineMy Social Security account. En español | Social Security Administration offices are currently closed to walk-in visits due to the coronavirus pandemic. In certain, very limited circumstances, you may be able to schedule an in-person visit, and many Social Security services can be accessed online or by telephone.
This dataset provides field office answer and busy rates, which account for most, but not all, of the calls to field offices. The calls not reflected in this dataset are abandon calls and overflow calls. Spanish speaking representatives are available to speak with callers who prefer to do business with us in Spanish.
In addition, if you contact the local SSA field office or call the number, you may request an interpreter to communicate with us, which we will provide at no cost. We have telephone interpreter services in more than 120 languages and dialects. Interpreters are available immediately, with no appointment necessary. SSA managers have been working out of the field and local offices during the pandemic, and some employees have joined them. About 3,000 SSA managers and managers are working at field offices across the country today, said Grace Kim, the agency's deputy commissioner for operations. Social Security scams are a common form of a government impostor scam, in which crooks pose as government officials to get you to send money or give up personal and financial data for use in identity theft.
These individuals are non-attorney professionals experienced in Social Security disability. They can help applicants apply for disability benefits and can guide them through the initial, reconsideration, and appeals hearing stages of the application process. However, non-attorney advocates cannot assist with the appeals council and federal district court stages. A qualified non-attorney can receive direct pay if they pass a special examination given once a year by a third party organization and are personally approved by the SSA themselves. Social Security offices are open by appointment only for certain services. If you believe you qualify for an in-person appointment, call your local office.
Appointments may not be immediately available, depending on local health and safety conditions and staffing. If you're dealing with Social Security by phone, be cautious. The number of Social Security identity phone scams has been rising. The agency generally only contacts people who have recently applied for benefits, or to update the records of those who are receiving benefits. The agency will never call to tell you that your Social Security number has been suspended or to demand payments or ask for credit card information. In the 10-year period Dr. Deshpande studied, Social Security closed 118 field offices, a cost-cutting move.
She estimated that during that period, a total of 786,000 applicants for disability insurance and S.S.I. were discouraged from applying. What a shame, we don't have technology to nail down these scammers, no-one helping us none of the government organization Police, FBI, FTC, Social security office, Senator you name it. All of them taking reports but no action, It's my hardly earned money is gone with the name of trusted government agencies.
You can view a list of the online services by visiting the online services section of the website. You'll notice that you can apply for benefits, get a copy of your statement, appeal a decision by Social Security officials, and get estimates of your future benefits and Medicare services, among other things. To obtain the phone number of your local field office, use our Social Security Office Locator. Just type in your postal ZIP code and we will provide you with the office address, phone number and business hours. We will also furnish you with directions to the office and with a map pinpointing the office's exact location. The agency installed drop boxes outside certain field offices, so members of the public can leave identification cards with SSA instead of relying on the mail, Kim said.
Kim said SSA has been working internally and with external advocacy organizations to simplify and streamline its application for supplemental security income benefits. The current form is more than 20 pages long and is too complex and detailed, and the agency eventually hopes to put a simplified version online. To learn your Social Security earnings records and an estimate of your retirement, disability, or survivor benefits, contact the Social Security Office for a "Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement" request form. Checking your record with the Social Security Office every few years ensures the office has correct information on your earnings history. Social Security is a government insurance program funded by employee and employer contributions. People receive benefits when they retire, become disabled, or are the surviving dependents of a person who contributed to Social Security.
On the other hand, you might get a call from a supposed SSA representative bearing good news — say, a cost-of-living increase in your benefits. To get the extra money, you just have to verify your name, date of birth and Social Security number. Armed with those identifiers, scammers can effectively hijack your account, asking SSA to change the address, phone number and direct deposit information on your record and thus diverting your benefits. In the digital age, frauds and scams are an unfortunate part of doing business online.
Scammers have many ways to lure their victims into providing information and then stealing their identities. Sometimes they call under a guise of helping you complete a disability application. The social security administration says in some cases, services can obtained from the office online. The Social Security Administration notes that there are some scam calls making the rounds.
Social Security employees will not threaten you or ask for any form of payment, according to a statement from the department. To his credit, Saul announced plans to attack the problem when he took the job last year, calling improved customer service his top priority. Since then, he brought on 500 teleservice reps, which he told AARP cut down call time by about 50%. One issue that has prompted criticism is the agency's requirement that sensitive documents, such as drivers' licenses and birth and death certificates, which are used for verifications, be sent to S.S.A. via mail. The agency has relaxed some of these requirements, and tested drop boxes placed outside the offices to collect such paperwork. But during a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing on the agency's pandemic customer service, Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and chairman of the committee, said he wasn't satisfied with that.
You can also apply for retirement benefits, Medicare orSocial Security Disability Insurance online. You'll find information and links to application forms on SSA'sOnline Servicesweb page. The Social Security Administration assigns Social Security numbers, and administers the Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability insurance programs. They also administer the Supplemental Security Income program for the aged, blind, and disabled.
Many of our services are now available online, like applying for Social Security benefits, requesting a replacement Social Security card, getting your Social Security Statement, and benefit verification letter. The Social Security Administration has a national network of approximately 1,250 local field offices. SSA said it has taken concerted efforts to engage with community organizations and advocacy groups to ensure vulnerable populations can access the agency during the pandemic. It acknowledged it has a chance to change the way it does business once the pandemic subsides. In a lengthy letter to Congress ahead of Thursday's hearing, SSA Commissioner Andrew Saul said it took the agency's field offices 20% longer to complete actions in fiscal 2020.
The workarounds they created for the pandemic "caused bottlenecks for certain workloads and service deterioration beyond our control," SSA said. My only regret over this event is that I waited too long to respond. Less than 24 hours after I got the call — from a Washington D.C. So I never had the chance to pass along a debit or credit card number, which is what the scammers are after. That's because this scam has been circulating for almost a year, and the Social Security Administration is aware of it.
And although I was eager to call and talk to the scammers, if possible, that doesn't mean you should be. The Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration has clear advice on what to do. Federal lawmakers from both political parties told 19 Investigates they're aware and frustrated with the problems caused by the lack of in-person availability at the social security office. But, many who are seeking a new social security card whether they just got married, or lost their other one have to fill out the application and send in their identification-- a passport or a driver's license. Using the website, you can view your latest statement, review our earnings history, estimate retirement benefits and check your application status. Social Security provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to workers and their dependents.
If you get benefits now but you've moved, you must change the mailing address you use for your benefits. We also continue to see the scam where the caller poses as a Sheriff's deputy and tells the resident that there is a bench warrant issued for their arrest because they did not show up for jury duty. The Sheriff's Office wants to remind residents that our agency does not call residents over the phone to notify them of a warrant and we do not take any payments of any kind over the phone.
The call usually begins as a recorded phone call that states your social security number has been suspended and you will lose all of your benefits. The recording prompts the receiver of the call to press a number on the telephone to be connected to a live person. Furthermore, if you do not respond they threaten that your social security number will be permanently blocked or your bank accounts will be seized. People were getting similar calls about their Social Security numbers being suspended in California, North Carolina, Kansas and more. But, as the Federal Trade Commission pointed out in a recent blog post, Social Security numbers don't get suspended.
You should never tell any random caller your Social Security, bank account, credit card or debit card number. Although you can do most of your business with us online, we know that service channel isn't right for everyone. If you have a critical situation and we cannot help you with by phone or online, we may be able to schedule an appointment for you. The Eureka Social Security Office would like to remind residents that although its office is closed to walk-in appointments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's still able to provide services online and by phone. You can also get your Social Security benefit statement on the Social Security website or apply for benefits there, as long as you have a my Social Security account.
Fight back by doing your own part to stop those scammers. Tell anyone you know who receives Social Security benefits about these scams and warn them not to share their information on the phone and online. There's no reason to believe a caller who claims your benefits have been suspended. First, Social Security benefits don't get suspended because of computer glitches. Second, the SSA will not call you to request your personal information out the blue.
