Social Security is rerouting staff to man the phone lines -- and hiding how long callers are waiting

Source: Business Insider

Jul 11, 2025, 3:35 PM ET


Social Security is switching things up to answer your calls faster, while data showing wait times has disappeared from its website. The agency is temporarily reassigning up to 1,000 field office employees to teleservice work, per an internal union document obtained by Business Insider.

The document shows the agency is changing staff responsibilities to address areas in need, and told employees only 4% of those currently working in field offices will be affected. An SSA official confirmed the change. The official said that "this initiative supports the agency's broader customer service strategy by enabling more flexible, real-time allocation of staff to meet the most pressing service demands."

The reassignment comes as workers and recipients alike fret over the state of a pared-down Social Security Administration. The agency has already said it wants to reduce staffing, and has fielded concerns from recipients about portals going down or documents becoming inaccessible. For some employees, the most recent changes are another example of the tumult that has enveloped the agency this year.

"Forget about the duties that they were accustomed to in their field office, now they'll be answering phones and strictly answering phones," field office employee Edwin Osario told BI. "Employees are continually feeling demoralized and disaffected," he added.

Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/social-security-field-staff-reassigned-phones-call-wait-data-vanishes-2025-7