WASHINGTON, D.C. - Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), issued the following statementtoday at a Ways and Means Subcommittee hearing on the Social Security Administration field office service delivery:
“Today’s hearing is focused on the challenges faced by the Social Security Administration in providing the customer service that the American people have a right to expect from SSA’s network of field offices and telephone service centers. We must explore how SSA can meet reasonable expectations in light of its resources and rapidly growing workloads.
“Last Thursday I visited the SSA Field Office in Grand Forks and met with the truly dedicated SSA employees who are the face of the Government helping them at a critical time when nearly all Americans are making lifetime decisions. One of the individuals that I met with was a retired college professor, Myron Bender. He spoke of how an SSA representative named Bonita helped both him and his wife understand their options and make retirement choices that are still the right ones twelve years later. The fact that Myron remembered Bonita’s name twelve years later clearly lets us know of the memorable and quality service of the SSA staff in the field offices.
“At today’s hearing, I expect to learn more about how SSA is managing its immediate service challenges due to the unexpected surges in work caused by the recession, and whether there has been sufficient planning for the long-expected workloads caused by the baby boom generation aging into retirement.
“For the next twenty years, it is expected that members of the baby boom generation will retire at an average of 10,000 per day. SSA saw the first of this generation apply for Social Security benefits in FY 2009, and expects a 13 percent rise in claims every year until 2017. The pressure on SSA to process these claims was compounded last year as the recession caused many more individuals than expected to file for disability and retirement benefits. Meanwhile, because of reduced funding over the prior decade, at the start of FY 2008, the size of SSA’s staff was down to levels not seen since 1972.
“As a result of this significant staffing shortage agency-wide, service to the public in SSA’s local field offices deteriorated, backlogs in processing of disability claims became intolerable, and important workloads were deferred. SSA’s workforce is also aging, as over 40 percent of SSA employees are going to become eligible for retirement by 2017, which could reduce productivity levels unless SSA finds a way to effectively pass down their seasoned expertise to less experienced staff.
“Since FY 2008, Congress has increased funding for SSA and the agency has made it a priority to attempt to address the unacceptable backlogs in disability claims appeals. Staffing in field offices, however, has continued to suffer, and it is not clear how SSA has planned to improve its services to the public. That is why today’s hearing is intended to shed greater light on the concerns about the quality of SSA’s front-line services to the public that are being raised by SSA employees and local managers, as well as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the SSA Inspector General.
“I have heard from field managers that they do not have sufficient staff to answer the phones, assist walk-in visitors, and produce the high-quality work the public deserves. They are increasingly concerned about declining quality in the work they produce. Nearly all resources are needed to process claims and assist SSA’s customers, and little is left to perform traditional quality-control and staff-training activities.
“Moreover, SSA is accumulating a substantial backlog of work that needs to be done after individuals begin receiving benefits (such as changing addresses and correcting underpayments). We are concerned that this growing backlog is leading to loss of benefits and incorrect payments.
“SSA recently announced that it had been able to scrub its budget and produce funding for an additional 900 positions in the field. The hearing will present an opportunity to learn whether this is sufficient to reverse the decline in customer service and eliminate backlogged workloads.
“I would like to thank Ranking Member Sam Johnson for his steadfast interest in ensuring that SSA can effectively serve the American people, and for sharing the view that these issues must be addressed in a bipartisan manner.
“Finally, I’ll conclude by noting that Bonita retired two years ago from the Grand Forks SSA office. On behalf of the people of North Dakota, and this Subcommittee, I thank her and all the other dedicated employees at SSA who strive daily to serve their fellow Americans, sometimes under difficult circumstances.
“I look forward to hearing from some of these dedicated public servants, and the testimony of all of the other witnesses, today."
