Better Management Needed in Social Security Administration's Toll-Free Telephone Service to the Public

GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) toll-free telephone service to the public.

In fiscal year 1980, SSA spent an estimated $9.5 million providing toll-free, long-distance telephone service to the public. This cost resulted from two sources: (1) the approximately 1,400 SSA offices accepting collect, long-distance calls from the public; and (2) some of the 32 Teleservice Centers using Wide Area Telecommunications Service providing toll-free, long-distance telephone service to the public. GAO found that better management of the SSA toll-free service would reduce costs because collect calls are an expensive way to provide toll-free service, and alternative telephone services would require cost analyses to maintain the most economic configuration. In addition, SSA management lacked central direction, and its management philosophy limited cost-effective alternatives. The need for cost-effective management has become even more important because of: (1) SSA efforts to reduce the cost of its programs, (2) major price increases in long-distance telephone services, and (3) SSA consideration of expanding the Teleservice Center concept nationwide.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Richard Davis Team: General Accounting Office: Mission Analysis and Systems Acquisition Division Phone: (202) 512-3504