Social Security Administration
Better Planning Needed to Improve Service Delivery Gao ID: GAO-10-586T April 15, 2010Millions of people rely on the services of Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices. In fiscal year 2009, SSA's approximately 1,300 field offices provided service to a record 45.1 million customers. People visit field offices to apply for Social Security cards, apply for retirement and disability benefits, request replacement benefit checks, and a host of other services. Over the last several years, growing workloads have challenged field offices' ability to manage work while continuing to deliver quality customer service. The Subcommittee asked GAO to discuss our January 2009 report on SSA field office service delivery challenges. Specifically, this testimony will discuss (1) the state of SSA field office operations, and (2) the status of SSA's efforts to develop a plan to address future service delivery challenges. To respond to the request, GAO relied primarily on the January 2009 report titled Social Security Administration: Service Delivery Plan Needed to Address Baby Boom Retirement Challenges (GAO-09-24, Jan. 2009), and updated it with additional information provided by SSA. In that report, GAO recommended that SSA develop a service delivery plan that explains how it will deliver quality service while managing growing work demands. SSA agreed to develop a document that describes service delivery and staffing plans. No new recommendations are being made in this testimony.
Since we last examined service at SSA field offices, SSA has expanded the level of staffing, and encouraged greater use of automated services. However, rapidly rising workloads have adversely affected customer service and the quality of some work, despite SSA's efforts. Recent hiring by SSA nearly restored field offices to their fiscal year 2005 level, but field offices have experienced rapid growth in their retirement and disability claims workloads. SSA used various strategies to manage the growing workload, including deferring some reviews of beneficiaries' continuing eligibility. However, deferring these reviews means that beneficiaries who no longer qualify for benefits may still receive payments erroneously. Key customer service indicators were also affected. In fiscal year 2009, more than 3 million customers waited over 1 hour to be served. Further, SSA's Field Office Caller Survey found that 58 percent of customers calling selected field offices had at least one earlier call that had gone unanswered, but for methodological reasons, the unanswered call rate was likely even higher. SSA has not yet offered a plan to detail how it will address future service delivery challenges as GAO recommended in January 2009. With projected increases to SSA's workload from retirement and disability filings from the nation's baby boom generation, and a continued wave of retirements of experienced staff, the need for such a plan is greater than ever. SSA estimates about a 14 percent rise in Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, Disability Insurance (Disability), and Supplemental Security Income claims over the next 10 years, rising from a combined total of 9.4 million, in fiscal year 2008 to 10.7 million in fiscal year 2017. In addition, based on SSA's projections, 41 percent of the current workforce will retire by fiscal year 2018. With such challenges, it is critical for SSA to develop a plan to discuss how it will address future challenges. SSA officials did not provide GAO with an update on where the agency stood in developing such a plan.
GAO-10-586T, Social Security Administration: Better Planning Needed to Improve Service Delivery
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Testimony:
Before the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery:
Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT:
Thursday, April 15, 2010:
Social Security Administration:
Better Planning Needed to Improve Service Delivery:
Statement of Barbara D. Bovbjerg, Managing Director:
Education, Workforce, and Income Security:
GAO-10-586T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-10-586T, a report to Committee on Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Social Security.
Why GAO Did This Study:
Millions of people rely on the services of Social Security
Administration (SSA) field offices. In fiscal year 2009, SSA‘s
approximately 1,300 field offices provided service to a record 45.1
million customers. People visit field offices to apply for Social
Security cards, apply for retirement and disability benefits, request
replacement benefit checks, and a host of other services. Over the
last several years, growing workloads have challenged field offices‘
ability to manage work while continuing to deliver quality customer
service.
The Subcommittee asked GAO to discuss our January 2009 report on SSA
field office service delivery challenges. Specifically, this testimony
will discuss (1) the state of SSA field office operations, and (2) the
status of SSA‘s efforts to develop a plan to address future service
delivery challenges.
To respond to the request, GAO relied primarily on the January 2009
report titled Social Security Administration: Service Delivery Plan
Needed to Address Baby Boom Retirement Challenges (GAO-09-24, Jan.
2009), and updated it with additional information provided by SSA. In
that report, GAO recommended that SSA develop a service delivery plan
that explains how it will deliver quality service while managing
growing work demands. SSA agreed to develop a document that describes
service delivery and staffing plans. No new recommendations are being
made in this testimony.
What GAO Found:
Since we last examined service at SSA field offices, SSA has expanded
the level of staffing, and encouraged greater use of automated
services. However, rapidly rising workloads have adversely affected
customer service and the quality of some work, despite SSA‘s efforts.
Recent hiring by SSA nearly restored field offices to their fiscal
year 2005 level, but field offices have experienced rapid growth in
their retirement and disability claims workloads. SSA used various
strategies to manage the growing workload, including deferring some
reviews of beneficiaries‘ continuing eligibility. However, deferring
these reviews means that beneficiaries who no longer qualify for
benefits may still receive payments erroneously. Key customer service
indicators were also affected. In fiscal year 2009, more than 3
million customers waited over 1 hour to be served. Further, SSA‘s
Field Office Caller Survey found that 58 percent of customers calling
selected field offices had at least one earlier call that had gone
unanswered, but for methodological reasons, the unanswered call rate
was likely even higher.
Table: End of Fiscal Year Field Office Staffing and Work Completed,
Fiscal Years 2005-2009:
Fiscal year: 2005;
Total number of SSA employees: 65,122;
Number of field office employees: 28,790;
Field office work (in work units): 37.1;
Work units per employee: 1,289.
Fiscal year: 2006;
Total number of SSA employees: 63,054;
Number of field office employees: 27,383;
Field office work (in work units): 37.0;
Work units per employee: 1,350.
Fiscal year: 2007;
Total number of SSA employees: 61,594;
Number of field office employees: 26,743;
Field office work (in work units): 36.2;
Work units per employee: 1,352.
Fiscal year: 2008;
Total number of SSA employees: 63,202;
Number of field office employees: 27,534;
Field office work (in work units): 36.5;
Work units per employee: 1,327.
Fiscal year: 2009;
Total number of SSA employees: 66,459;
Number of field office employees: 28,656;
Field office work (in work units): 37.9;
Work units per employee: 1,322.
Percent change, 2005-2009:
Total number of SSA employees: 2.1%;
Number of field office employees: -0.5%;
Field office work (in work units): 2.1%;
Work units per employee: 2.6%.
[End of table]
SSA has not yet offered a plan to detail how it will address future
service delivery challenges as GAO recommended in January 2009. With
projected increases to SSA‘s workload from retirement and disability
filings from the nation‘s baby boom generation, and a continued wave
of retirements of experienced staff, the need for such a plan is
greater than ever. SSA estimates about a 14 percent rise in Old-Age
and Survivors Insurance, Disability Insurance (Disability), and
Supplemental Security Income claims over the next 10 years, rising
from a combined total of 9.4 million, in fiscal year 2008 to 10.7
million in fiscal year 2017. In addition, based on SSA‘s projections,
41 percent of the current workforce will retire by fiscal year 2018.
With such challenges, it is critical for SSA to develop a plan to
discuss how it will address future challenges. SSA officials did not
provide GAO with an update on where the agency stood in developing
such a plan.
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-586T] or key
components. For more information, contact Barbara D. Bovbjerg @ (202)
512-7215 or bovbjergb@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here today to discuss the state of Social Security
Administration (SSA) field office services. SSA's approximately 1,300
field offices serve a vital role as SSA's primary contact with the
public. In 2009, a record 45.1 million people visited field offices to
apply for Social Security cards and benefits, and to request
replacement benefit checks and a host of other services. In January
2009, we issued a report that discussed field office service
challenges.[Footnote 1] In the time since our report, field office
staffing has increased slightly, nearly restoring staffing levels to
their fiscal year 2005 level. With the recent economic downturn, field
offices are facing more pressure than ever to meet service delivery
needs, and soon baby boomer retirements will stretch SSA field office
staff even further.
Today I will discuss (1) the current state of SSA field office
operations, and (2) the status of SSA's efforts to develop a plan to
address future service delivery challenges. This testimony is based on
our January 2009 report and updated with additional information
provided by SSA. In developing that report, we obtained various
automated data on field office staffing, productivity, and customer
wait times. We also interviewed SSA headquarters officials responsible
for overseeing field office operations, as well as managers and staff
in 21 field offices, two Social Security Card Centers, two regional
offices, and three area offices. To update this information, we
obtained data from SSA, including data on staffing and productivity,
and interviewed SSA officials.
We conducted the work for our January 2009 report between July 2007
and January 2009 in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards and updated this information in April 2010. Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Background:
SSA offers a range of services, which includes providing financial
assistance to eligible individuals through the following three major
benefit programs:
* Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI)--provides benefits to older
workers and their families and to survivors of deceased workers.
* Disability Insurance (Disability)--provides benefits to eligible
workers who have qualifying disabilities, and their eligible family
members.
* Supplemental Security Income (SSI)--provides income for aged, blind,
or disabled individuals with limited income and resources.
In fiscal year 2009, these three benefit programs provided a combined
total of approximately $704 billion in benefit payments to nearly 59
million beneficiaries. SSA projects that the benefit payments and
number of beneficiaries for the three programs will increase in fiscal
year 2010.
Besides paying benefits through these three programs, SSA issues
Social Security cards, maintains earnings records, and performs
various other functions through a network of field office and
headquarters operations using an administrative budget of over $10
billion. SSA's field operations consist of:
* field offices, which serve as the agency's primary points for face-
to-face contact;
* Social Security Card Centers, which issue original Social Security
numbers, and replacement Social Security cards;
* Teleservice Centers, which offer national, toll-free telephone
service; and:
* Program Service Centers, which make entitlement decisions for
benefits, as well as assist in answering 800-number calls.
Field offices are located in communities across the United States, the
Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam, delivering services through
face-to-face contact, over the phone, and through the mail. Field
offices range in size from large urban offices with 50 or more
employees to very small offices in remote areas called resident
stations. SSA currently has 1,259 field offices, 8 Social Security
Card Centers, and 29 resident stations. Resident stations have more
limited services, and are staffed by one or two individuals. Field
offices also offer services to the public through 571 contact
stations. These stations provide very limited functions and are
staffed with one SSA field office employee who travels once a month to
certain locations, such as a hospital, to provide service to customers
who lack transportation or telephone access. Additionally, SSA has
begun using video conferencing to take claims and provide other
services to customers in remote locations. Forty-one field offices are
currently using video conferencing to provide service to customers and
SSA is preparing to roll-out video conferencing to 80 additional
offices. SSA also has a separate video service project in the Denver
region to help service geographically diverse areas and provide tribal
outreach.
In addition to field offices, SSA offers customers a variety of other
options for conducting their business. Individuals may call SSA's toll-
free helpline to file for benefits or to obtain general information.
They also may use the Internet to file for benefits, or visit a Social
Security Card Center to request a Social Security card.
While SSA field offices take applications and determine if claimants
meet basic, nonmedical eligibility requirements for benefits, state
Disability Determination Services (DDS) that are under contract with
SSA make medical eligibility determinations for Disability and SSI
claims. SSA's Hearing Offices and Appeals Council make decisions on
appeals of these determinations. DDSs also conduct continuing
disability reviews for Disability and SSI beneficiaries to ensure that
individuals are still medically eligible for payments. For
beneficiaries found eligible for disability benefits, SSA periodically
conducts disability reviews (CDR) of beneficiaries' earnings and work
activity to determine if they are still financially eligible to
receive Disability benefits. SSA refers to these reviews as "work
CDRs."[Footnote 2] SSA also conducts periodic reviews to determine if
SSI beneficiaries are still eligible to receive SSI payments based on
the beneficiary's income, living arrangement, and other non-medical
factors related to SSI--these reviews are referred to as SSI
redeterminations. One type of redetermination is a limited issue
review, which does not require a full review of eligibility.
Recent Hiring Has Helped Field Offices Manage Growing Claims
Workloads, but Work Quality and Customer Service Have Declined:
Since we last examined service at SSA field offices, SSA has expanded
the level of staffing, and encouraged greater use of automated
services. However, rapidly rising workloads have adversely affected
customer service and the quality of some work, despite SSA's efforts.
Increases to Field Office Staffing Since Fiscal Year 2008 Has Helped
Field Offices to Meet Growing Claims Workloads:
Field office staffing stayed about the same from fiscal year 2005
through 2009, despite recent hiring, while the amount of work[Footnote
3] that field offices produced increased by 2.1 percent (see table 1).
As a result of greater efficiency, the average amount of work produced
by field office employees increased by 2.6 percent from fiscal year
2005 to 2009. In fiscal years 2008 and 2009, SSA hired a combined
number of 4,931 staff for field offices, which helped to almost
restore field offices to their fiscal year 2005 staffing level. The
additional staffing helped to nearly erase field office staffing
reductions in fiscal years 2006 and 2007. In our January 2009 report,
we reported that field office staffing declined by 4.4 percent from
fiscal years 2005 through 2008, but the amount of work that field
offices produced had decreased by only 1.3 percent.
Table 1: End of Fiscal Year Field Office Staffing and Work Completed,
Fiscal Years 2005-2009:
Fiscal year: 2005;
End of fiscal year total number of SSA employees: 65,122;
Number of field office employees: 28,790;
Field office work (in work units): 37.1 million;
Work units completed per employee: 1,289.
Fiscal year: 2006;
End of fiscal year total number of SSA employees: 63,054;
Number of field office employees: 27,383;
Field office work (in work units): 37.0 million;
Work units completed per employee: 1,350.
Fiscal year: 2007;
End of fiscal year total number of SSA employees: 61,594;
Number of field office employees: 26,743;
Field office work (in work units): 36.2 million;
Work units completed per employee: 1,352.
Fiscal year: 2008;
End of fiscal year total number of SSA employees: 63,202;
Number of field office employees: 27,534;
Field office work (in work units): 36.5 million;
Work units completed per employee: 1,327.
Fiscal year: 2009;
End of fiscal year total number of SSA employees: 66,459;
Number of field office employees: 28,656;
Field office work (in work units): 37.9 million;
Work units completed per employee: 1,322.
Fiscal year: Percent change, 2005 - 2008;
End of fiscal year total number of SSA employees: -2.9%;
Number of field office employees: -4.4%;
Field office work (in work units): -1.3%;
Work units completed per employee: 3.0%.
Fiscal year: Percent change, 2005 - 2009;
End of fiscal year total number of SSA employees: 2.1%;
Number of field office employees: -0.5%;
Field office work (in work units): 2.1%;
Work units completed per employee: 2.6%.
Source: GAO analysis of SSA data.
[End of table]
Increases in SSA's fiscal year 2008 and 2009 budget appropriations and
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding enabled
SSA to provide more staffing resources to field offices. Table 2 shows
SSA's final appropriations for fiscal years 2002 through 2009. The
table also shows the changes in recent staffing.
Table 2: SSA's Limitation on Administrative Expenses Account and End
of Year Total Number of SSA Employees, Fiscal Years 2002-2009:
Fiscal year: 2002;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $7,570;
Total number of SSA employees: 63,611.
Fiscal year: 2003;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $7,885;
Total number of SSA employees: 65,191.
Fiscal year: 2004;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $8,313;
Total number of SSA employees: 64,184.
Fiscal year: 2005;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $8,733;
Total number of SSA employees: 65,122.
Fiscal year: 2006;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $9,109;
Total number of SSA employees: 63,054.
Fiscal year: 2007;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $9,298;
Total number of SSA employees: 61,594.
Fiscal year: 2008;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $9,745;
Total number of SSA employees: 63,202.
Fiscal year: 2009;
Final appropriation: (in billions): $11,544;
Total number of SSA employees: 66,459.
Source: GAO analysis of SSA data.
Note: In fiscal year 2009, SSA received over a billion dollars in ARRA
funding. This funding provided SSA $500 million to process retirement
and disability workloads, $500 million for a new data center, and $90
million to administer economic recovery payments of $250 per
beneficiary.
[End of table]
According to SSA officials, SSA plans to maintain field office
staffing levels in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 by providing for a 1:1
replacement rate for staff who leave the agency. SSA is planning to
use its fiscal year 2010 and 2011 funding to increase staffing in
state DDS offices and SSA hearing offices to reduce disability
backlogs; the Commissioner has identified reducing the appeals hearing
backlog for disability cases as the agency's top priority.
The demand for field office service and claims workloads has grown to
record levels. Comparing fiscal years 2006 and 2009, visitor volume
increased by about 3.2 million customers, from 41.9 million to 45.1
million. If the visitor volume during the second half of fiscal year
2010 is the same as the volume during the first half, the volume will
again be 45.1 million by the end of the fiscal year. Also, from fiscal
year 2005 through 2009, SSA processed a growing number of OASI,
Disability, and SSI claims (nonmedical determinations only), which SSA
attributes to the onset of the baby boom generation's retirements and
the economic downturn (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Number of OASI, Disability, and SSI Claims Receipts, Fiscal
Years 2005-2009:
[Refer to PDF for image: stacked vertical bar graph]
Fiscal year: 2005;
OASI: 3.7 million;
DI: 2.5 million;
SSI: 2.5 million;
Total: 8.7 million.
Fiscal year: 2006;
OASI: 3.8 million;
DI: 2.5 million;
SSI: 2.6 million;
Total: 8.9 million.
Fiscal year: 2007;
OASI: 3.8 million;
DI: 2.6 million;
SSI: 2.6 million;
Total: 9.0 million.
Fiscal year: 2008;
OASI: 4.2 million;
DI: 2.7 million;
SSI: 2.7 million;
Total: 9.6 million.
Fiscal year: 2009;
OASI: 4.7 million;
DI: 3.2 million;
SSI: 3.1 million;
Total: 11.0 million.
Source: GAO analysis of SSA data.
[End of figure]
SSA Has Used Several Different Strategies to Manage Growing Workloads:
Even with the increases in field office staffing in fiscal years 2008
and 2009, and some increases in average productivity by employees,
many field office managers, responding to a survey conducted in
February 2010 by the National Council of Social Security Management
Association, Inc. (NCSSMA), [Footnote 4] stated that staffing levels
are inadequate to deal with the growing public service challenges they
face daily in field offices. In this survey, over 95 percent of the
managers said that they need to hire at least one more employee to
provide adequate public service, 89.2 percent said they need at least
two more employees, and 71.2 percent said that they need at least
three more employees.
SSA continues to use various strategies to manage work in field
offices, such as shifting work among field offices, based on their
workloads, encouraging customers to make greater use of automated
services, and deferring certain field office work. For example, if an
office has work demands that it cannot immediately cover, that office
can request that some work be transferred to another office. SSA is
also encouraging customers to use automated services. SSA reported
that in fiscal years 2008 and 2009, respectively, the public performed
4.0 million and 6.1 million electronic transactions.[Footnote 5] SSA
reported that electronic filings for retirement benefits grew from
approximately 407,000 to 833,000 from fiscal year 2008 to 2009,
respectively; this represented 18.9 percent and 32.2 percent of the
total retirement applications filed in fiscal years 2008 and 2009. As
result, SSA is making progress toward achieving the goal it set in its
fiscal year 2008 Agency Strategic Plan to achieve an online filing
rate of 50 percent of retirement applications by 2012.
With regard to deferring work, SSA has deferred a significant number
of SSI redeterminations since fiscal year 2003. Although SSA increased
the number of SSI redeterminations in fiscal year 2009 above the 2008
level, the number of reviews remains significantly below the fiscal
year 2003 level. Specifically, SSA conducted about 719,000 or 30
percent fewer SSI redeterminations in fiscal year 2009 than it did in
fiscal year 2003. However, if SSA completes the number of SSI
redeterminations it is projecting for fiscal year 2010, it will be
close to the fiscal year 2003 level. Further, the Congress has stated
that it is concerned about delays in processing work-related CDRs. Our
data show that SSA increased work-related CDRs from about 106,500 in
fiscal year 2003 to about 175,600 in fiscal year 2006. However, the
number of work CDRs has decreased slightly since 2006, and SSA
projects that it will conduct about 174,200 work CDRs in fiscal year
2010 (see figure 2).
Figure 2: Number of SSI Redeterminations and Work CDRs Completed,
Fiscal Years 2003-2009 (Actual) and Fiscal Year 2010 (Projected):
[Refer to PDF for image: multiple vertical bar graph]
Fiscal year: 2003;
SSI Non-disability determinations: 2.4 million;
Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.1 million.
Fiscal year: 2004;
SSI Non-disability determinations: 2.3 million;
Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.1 million.
Fiscal year: 2005;
SSI Non-disability determinations: 1.7 million;
Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.1 million.
Fiscal year: 2006;
SSI Non-disability determinations: 1.1 million;
Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.2 million.
Fiscal year: 2007;
SSI Non-disability determinations: 1.0 million;
Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.2 million.
Fiscal year: 2008;
SSI Non-disability determinations: 1.2 million;
Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.2 million.
Fiscal year: 2009;
SSI Non-disability determinations: 1.7 million;
Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.2 million.
Fiscal year: 2010;
Projected SSI Non-disability determinations: 2.4 million;
Projected Work Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs): 0.2 million.
Source: GAO analysis of SSA data.
Note: The numbers for SSI redeterminations include limited issues
reviews.
[End of figure]
Reviews of continuing eligibility are key activities in ensuring that
benefits are paid only to those individuals entitled to them. A fiscal
year 2008 Supplemental Security Income Stewardship Report showed the
correlation between the number of SSI redeterminations conducted and
the overpayment accuracy rate. The data showed that as the number of
SSI redeterminations and limited issue reviews decreased, the
overpayment accuracy rate[Footnote 6] for SSI payments declined from
93.6 percent in fiscal year 2005 to 89.7 percent in fiscal year 2008,
the lowest level in over 30 years. The report stated that the primary
reason for overpayment inaccuracies is failure of SSI recipients and
their representative payees to report changes that affect payment,
such as changes in income and resources. SSA estimates that CDRs yield
a lifetime savings of about $10 for every dollar invested, while SSI
redeterminations save $8 over 10 years for every dollar invested.
Pressures to Meet Increased Workload Demands May Have Contributed to
Adverse Effects on Field Office Operations:
Pressures on field office staff to meet increased workload demands may
have adversely affected the quality of some work. According to the
2010 NCSSMA report, 87.4 percent of survey respondents reported that
they receive complaints weekly from the public about the accuracy or
timeliness of the work being produced, and 82.5 percent reported that
the number of quality case reviews performed in their office is
insufficient to ensure an accurate and timely work product. Also,
although the percentage of customers rating SSA service favorably
(excellent, very good, or good) has remained stable at 81 percent
since fiscal year 2007, the rating has declined from its fiscal year
2005 level of 85 percent, and continues to fall short of the agency's
83 percent goal.
Pressures on field office staff may have also contributed to a further
decline in customers' satisfaction with field office service than in
previous years. According to SSA's fiscal year 2008/2009 field office
caller survey, 58 percent of callers got a busy signal or a recording
that lines were busy when they called field offices--up from 45
percent in fiscal year 2007, and 55 percent in fiscal year 2008.
Because SSA based its results only on customers who were ultimately
able to get through to the field offices, the actual percentage of
customers that had unanswered calls was likely higher. The decline in
field office phone service is further evidenced by results of the 2010
NCSSMA report--64.6 percent of managers said that they were able to
provide prompt telephone service less than half the time; virtually
all of the managers (98.1 percent) reported that they receive weekly
complaints about telephone service provided by their office; and
another 67.8 percent of survey respondents said that the increased
volume of visitors coming into their office is due in moderate or
large part to the inability of their office to provide prompt
telephone service. SSA has undertaken efforts to improve telephone
service in field offices. SSA initiated a pilot program in 2007 called
"Forward on Busy" in 25 field offices to address deficiencies with
phone service. SSA has since converted the pilot into a regular
program, and 147 offices are participating. Under the program, calls
receiving a busy signal at field offices are automatically forwarded
to a Teleservice Center. In another effort to improve its telephone
service, SSA awarded a $300 million contract to build a Voice over
Internet Protocol telephone system for field operations. This system
will allow SSA to fully integrate its telephone system and data
network, which will provide for faster call routing to any geographic
location, and quicker access to caller information.
While SSA made some improvements in customer waiting times in fiscal
year 2009, SSA data show that the number of customers waiting for over
2 hours remained about the same. Compared to fiscal year 2008 waiting
times, SSA increased the number of customers who waited from 0-60
minutes from 92.1 percent to 92.5 percent; decreased the number of
customers who waited for 61-120 minutes from 6.8 percent to 6.6
percent; and remained about the same (1 percent) for customers who
waited for more than 2 hours (see table 3).
Table 3: Fiscal Year 2008 and 2009 Waiting Times:
Waiting times (in minutes): 0 to 60;
Number of customers in Fiscal Year 2008: 38,081,208;
Percentage of total: 92.1%;
Number of customers in Fiscal Year 2009: 38,516,903;
Percentage of total: 92.5%.
Waiting times (in minutes): 61 to 120;
Number of customers in Fiscal Year 2008: 2,826,377;
Percentage of total: 6.8%;
Number of customers in Fiscal Year 2009: 2,730,323;
Percentage of total: 6.6%.
Waiting times (in minutes): More than 120;
Number of customers in Fiscal Year 2008: 435,301;
Percentage of total: 1.1%;
Number of customers in Fiscal Year 2009: 400,630;
Percentage of total: 1.0%.
Source: SSA data.
Note: The waiting time data for fiscal year 2008 differs from that
presented in our January 2009 report because SSA updated the wait time
data for an additional 3 million customers.
[End of table]
In our January 2009 report, we recommended that SSA establish
standards for field office customer waiting times and phone service to
help identify and improve offices with poor service. SSA did not act
on this recommendation stating that it would create problems by
diverting staff already spread thin across field offices.
SSA Has Not Developed a Plan to Describe How It will Address Future
Service Delivery Challenges:
SSA has not yet offered a plan to detail how it will continue to do
more work with fewer resources and achieve its strategic goals. In our
2009 report and prior reports, we recommended that SSA develop a
service delivery plan to outline how it would deliver quality service
while managing growing work demands and limited resources. SSA
partially agreed with our recommendation, stating that it had a number
of documents, including its strategic plan, which discusses how it
will meet future service delivery needs. However, because of a
continuing concern about the agency's lack of a consolidated plan to
address service and staffing, SSA agreed to develop a single document
to describe its plan for addressing future service delivery
challenges. SSA officials did not provide us with an update on where
the agency stood in developing this plan.
With projected increases to SSA's workload from retirement and
disability filings from the nation's baby boom generation, and a
continued wave of retirements of experienced staff, the need for such
a plan is greater than ever. For fiscal years 2010 through 2017, SSA
projects that the agency will consistently have workloads of
approximately 11 million claims (see figure 3), which is significantly
higher than the workloads processed during fiscal years 2005 through
2008, as previously noted in figure 1.
Figure 3: Projected OASI, Disability, and SSI Claims, Fiscal Years
2010-2017:
[Refer to PDF for image: stacked vertical bar graph]
Fiscal year: 2010;
OASI: 4.7 million;
DI: 3.6 million;
SSI: 3.6 million;
Total: 11.9 million.
Fiscal year: 2011;
OASI: 4.6 million;
DI: 3.5 million;
SSI: 3.2 million;
Total: 11.3 million.
Fiscal year: 2012;
OASI: 4.6 million;
DI: 3.4 million;
SSI: 3.2 million;
Total: 11.2 million.
Fiscal year: 2013;
OASI: 4.8 million;
DI: 3.1 million;
SSI: 2.9 million;
Total: 10.8 million.
Fiscal year: 2014;
OASI: 5.0 million;
DI: 2.9 million;
SSI: 2.7 million;
Total: 10.6 million.
Fiscal year: 2015;
OASI: 5.1 million;
DI: 2.9 million;
SSI: 2.8 million;
Total: 10.8 million.
Fiscal year: 2016;
OASI: 5.3 million;
DI: 2.9 million;
SSI: 2.7 million;
Total: 10.9 million.
Fiscal year: 2017;
OASI: 5.3 million;
DI: 2.9 million;
SSI: 2.8 million;
Total: 11.0 million.
Source: GAO analysis of SSA data.
[End of figure]
As we stated in our January 2009 report, it will be more difficult for
SSA to meet higher workload challenges as a result of the anticipated
retirement of many of the agency's most experienced field office
workers. Based on SSA's projections, 22 percent of SSA's current
workforce will retire by fiscal year 2013, and the figure will grow to
41 percent by fiscal year 2018. SSA's projections show that a
significant portion of the losses will come from supervisory staff,
who are among the agency's most experienced staff. For example, SSA
projects that 38 percent of supervisory staff are eligible to retire
now, 54 percent will be eligible in five years, and 66 percent will be
eligible in 10 years. It will take years for SSA to rebuild the
decades of knowledge that will be lost from these retirements. Field
office managers and staff we spoke to told us that it typically takes
2 to 3 years for new employees to become fully proficient. Given this,
SSA is likely to experience declines in productivity as new staff
replace more experienced staff. Therefore, SSA will need to do more to
compensate for such declines.
Concluding Observations:
While SSA is managing increasing workloads resulting from growing
retirement and disability claims, it still faces the challenge of
providing quality service. SSA's management of increased workloads
came at a cost--the accuracy rate for SSI overpayments fell to the
lowest level in 30 years, and some customer service continues to
decline. These problems may become more severe as workloads continue
to grow from the nation's baby boom generation, waves of SSA's most
experienced staff retire, and the current level of field office
staffing stays flat. Such challenges make it essential for SSA to
develop a plan to manage its increasing workload. Whether SSA will
need more resources or an altered field office infrastructure, or
both, is unclear. We still believe that a detailed service delivery
plan should make this clear, and if additional resources are needed to
achieve agencywide goals, SSA should identify the resources required
to meet long-term service delivery needs.
Mr. Chairman, this completes my prepared statement. I would be happy
to respond to any questions you or other Members of the Subcommittee
may have at this time.
Contacts and Acknowledgment:
For further questions about this statement, please contact Barbara D.
Bovbjerg at (202) 512-7215 or bovbjergb@gao.gov. Individuals making
key contributions to this statement included Blake Ainsworth, Mary
Crenshaw, Paul Wright, and Charlie Willson.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] GAO, Social Security Administration: Service Delivery Plan Needed
to Address Baby Boom Retirement Challenges [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-24] (Washington, D.C.: January
2009).
[2] SSA also conducts "medical" CDRs. While SSA evaluates non-medical
factors to determine a person's continued eligibility for Disability
benefits, DDSs evaluate whether a person has medically improved to the
point that they are able to work.
[3] SSA measures the amount of work produced by multiplying the volume
of actions completed by the amount of time required to complete each
type of action. The result is what SSA terms "work units." Because
some types of actions take longer than others to complete, SSA views
work units as a more precise measure than a simple count of the number
of actions completed.
[4] NCSSMA is a membership organization of approximately 3,400 SSA
managers and supervisors who provide leadership in field offices and
Teleservice Centers throughout the country.
[5] Our January 2009 report (GAO-09-24) stated that SSA reported 3.7
million electronic transactions. However, SSA updated the figure to
4.0 million based on more recent data.
[6] The overpayment accuracy rate is the percentage of dollars paid
that are free of overpayment errors. The accuracy rate was derived
using data from the review of SSI cases with a payment made in at
least one month of the fiscal year under review.
[End of section]
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