For millions of retirees, Social Security is more than just a nice perk. It leaves approximately 22 million Americans living above the poverty line, including more than 16 million adults age 65 and older.
When a system slows down, people start to perceive it as getting faster.
So the agency’s latest report card sounds like good news. The Social Security Administration said it has shortened wait times, moved more services online and made disability claims faster.
But federal workers and top advocates warn that the shiny numbers may be masking some real problems.
3 changes to the social security peddle
The agency announced its results on Oct. 23, calling fiscal 2026 the best performance in its history.
The biggest headlines were the phone lines. The national average wait time for 800 numbers fell to 5.6 minutes from 28 minutes in fiscal 2024. Although offices serve nearly 30 million visitors, average wait times at field offices dropped by more than 30 percent.
Also Read: Social Security Announces New Cost of Living Adjustments for 2027
The online aspect is growing rapidly. According to a Social Security Administration report, more than 105 million people now have a My Social Security Account, an increase of about 20% from fiscal year 2024.
Commissioner Frank Bisignano attributes much of the progress to “digital first.” He said the program was behind the “transformative improvements” people were seeing.
For many families, a disability claim can impact something close to home. The time required to obtain a first decision is now approximately 40 days shorter than in fiscal 2024. This is equivalent to a 17% shortening. The number of claims still pending also decreased, from nearly 1.2 million to 911,000.
These improvements come as check sizes are about to expand. According to TheStreet, a cost-of-living adjustment of 3.6% in 2027 would increase the average monthly benefit for retired workers by about $75.
Nearly 72 million beneficiaries will receive a raise starting in late 2026 and early 2027, with SSI recipients receiving a raise on December 31.
Why insiders aren’t celebrating yet
Unions representing social security workers see a different picture. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 35,000 agency employees, sounded the alarm about what’s going on behind the numbers.
Staffing is a major concern. According to Federal News Network, the Social Security Administration has about 50,000 employees, the lowest number in decades, and will lose more than 7,000 employees in 2025 alone.
Including this year’s departures, the net loss of employees since President Trump took office is nearly 8,000.
More than 2,000 employees were moved to 800 numbers, taking them away from claims processing and in-person office help. “We’re just losing people,” Jessica LaPointe of AFGE Council 220 said, according to Federal News Network.
The union wants Congress to pay for the 20,000 additional workers, although Bisignano told lawmakers in June that the agency has “the right number of employees in the right place.”
The union also wants more transparency in how the agency measures services. Retirement counselor Marcia Mantell made a similar point, noting that automated call menus can make wait times appear shorter and don’t report call-back times. She also said walk-in restrictions may help explain shorter office wait times.
That’s the problem with these phone numbers. People who choose to call back will not be counted toward the average wait time.
The Social Security Inspector General found that as of September 2025, those callbacks were taking more than an hour. If you’re someone sitting by a phone, an average of 5.6 minutes doesn’t mean much.
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Not every retiree lives online
The push for digital services raises another question: What happens to those who don’t have easy access to digital services?
“I think it’s a good thing that social security is embracing technology; however, if we don’t provide alternatives, then we run the risk of some of our most vulnerable citizens being left behind,” Christina Bremner, founder of senior living database Purple Door Finders, told MoneyWise.
“We cannot forget that millions of older adults struggle with technology and do not have access to online devices,” she added.
More social security:
- Social Security’s next Coke may disappear on arrival
- Social Security estimators make a costly assumption
- Social Security’s biggest check locks out most retirees
The data confirmed her fears. At the beginning of 2021, only about 61% of Americans aged 65 and older owned a smartphone, about a quarter did not use the Internet at all, and only 64% had broadband at home. That leaves a large group of retirees potentially languishing in an online-first system.
Funding has also failed to keep pace with demand. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculated that inflation-adjusted funding for client services fell 19 percent from 2010 to 2024, while the number of beneficiaries increased 25 percent.
AARP urges Congress to fund more frontline workers and keep field offices open.
Going online also brings new risks. According to TheStreet, personal finance expert Dave Ramsey said that by 2025, government impersonation complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will reach 330,000, a 25% increase from the previous year, and the Social Security Administration is one of the agencies most commonly imitated by scammers.
Ramsey warned that criminals who steal Social Security numbers can even “file a huge tax refund on your behalf.”
What social security Beneficiaries can now do
If you’re used to being online, it’s still worth setting up a Social Security account. The website, which was previously offline for about 29 hours a week, now operates around the clock, with online transaction volume soaring by 20% in fiscal 2025. This saves you from long wait times.
Prefer talking to a real person? Then give yourself extra time. Schedule in-person office visits in advance, note the date of each call, and don’t be shy about following up when the promised call-back never comes.
Things can still drag on. Mantell said one of her clients waited more than 70 days on her initial claim, and seven months is still a long time to wait for a disability decision.
Scams are also worth a look. The Office of the Inspector General recommends deleting and reporting any unexpected emails claiming to be from the Social Security Administration. “Awareness is one of the most powerful tools we have,” the office said.
It only makes sense to provide better services to those who need them most.
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