The Honorable Frank J. Bisignano
Commissioner
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21235

Dear Commissioner Bisignano,

On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I am writing to express my appreciation for the reversal of your policy proposing to change how older Americans can access services at the Social Security Administration (SSA). You have repeatedly claimed your intention is to “meet beneficiaries where they want to be met – whether in person in field offices, on the web, or on the phone” – statements that appear on SSA’s website, and were made both during your confirmation hearing and your testimony during the House Ways and Means Subcommittee hearing. Yet many of the actions you have taken since your swearing-in as Commissioner belie these statements – you have repeatedly attempted to force seniors and members of the disability community to conduct their business with SSA online, using various unverified claims of “fraud prevention” to justify the increased elimination of phone access. 

According to your original announcement, beginning on August 18th, SSA planned to require 

additional identity verification procedures for simple transactions that can now be handled over the phone, including basic services such as requesting a tax form or benefit verification letter, changing an address, or simply checking the status of a pending claim. This dramatic expansion of the Security Authentication PIN (SAP) verification system represented a re-emergence of policies that were loudly opposed by the public when similar changes were announced earlier this year. Your announcement on August 1st making the SAP process optional was welcome news, but contributed even further to the confusion and chaos that has distressed and traumatized seniors and the disability community since the beginning of this year. 

As you well know, Americans have worked hard and earned their Social Security benefits with each and every paycheck, and a portion of every Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payment is intended to cover the cost of administering the program through the operations of the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA is an extremely efficient agency, providing services at a fraction of the overhead cost private insurance companies charge. In recent years, however, SSA has been seriously underfunded: from 2010 to 2023, SSA’s operating budget has fallen by 13 percent, adjusted for inflation, while the number of beneficiaries has grown by 21 percent. 

Rather than reversing this trend and requesting funding levels commensurate with the demands on SSA, you have made clear your intention to ‘improve efficiency’ and cut costs by substituting Artificial Intelligence (AI) and online transactions for employees. As only one example, in a recent interview you stated you are promoting a “digital first” mindset at SSA, claiming this represents “the way Americans are used to transacting” business. 

Commissioner Bisignano, I have spent many years working with and representing older Americans, and I can assure you, this is not the case with the vast majority of America’s seniors, many of whom have limited access to or comfort using digital technology. They are not “used to” transacting business online – whether with SSA, their banks or in purchasing goods. What they are “used to” at SSA is calling a local field office or driving a short distance to visit one in person as a walk-in – which is also the way many conduct business with their local banks or stores. Perhaps when the current generation of digital natives reaches retirement age the expanded use of technology by SSA will be appropriate, but certainly not for today’s generations approaching or already at retirement age. These Americans are not an insignificant sliver of the population – they represent a significant portion of your customer base, and they are the most vulnerable of all our citizens. 

Your new verification procedure certainly appears to have been part of the process of replacing staff with computers. However, it also would have erected potentially insurmountable obstacles for those customers who need to ‘be met’ through the agency’s phone service.  Rushing technological changes in an effort to replace experienced staff can be catastrophic for an agency that is charged with implementing complicated laws for a beneficiary base that is dependent on receiving their earned benefit checks on time and in the correct amount — each and every month. Your new announcement was originally made using fast-tracked procedures intended only for use during emergencies, using unsubstantiated claims of ‘fraud’ to justify operational changes that would have taken effect with little notice to the public and no opportunity for public input. 

Had you simply gone through the normal notice and comment process, advocates such as the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare would have emphasized the obstacles you would be placing on our members, and could have avoided yet another pullback of an unpopular and damaging policy change at SSA. Instead, you have further confused and frightened many of your customers, and created an atmosphere of distrust of the agency and fear of more poorly considered policy changes in the future. 

SSA’s own estimates show the considerable impact that these proposed changes would have had if implemented: More than half of those who attempted to handle these tasks by phone would have been unable to complete the complicated SAP process to do so, and instead, 3.4 million Americans each year (over 65,000 each week) would have needed to travel to a field office to handle simple paperwork they can currently do over the phone. That number comes on top of the 1.9 million newly required to travel to field offices to change their direct deposit banking information, starting earlier this year. This would have all been occurring at the same time that the average wait time to get an appointment in a field office is already 35 days, and the agency has recently reassigned thousands of field office workers to instead answer phone calls. 

AARP found that the option to verify identity online will be a challenge for the one in four older adults who report never going online.  Creating an online my Social Security account can be a complicated process for people who are uncomfortable with online systems or do not have reliable internet access. The in-person option is particularly difficult for seniors living in rural areas or with mobility challenges, as well as those who lack reliable transportation. One recent study found nearly a quarter of seniors live more than an hour’s drive round-trip from their nearest field office. 

In short, for many older Americans, the phone is how they access Social Security services without having to rely on complicated technology or long, difficult, or costly trips to field offices. Limiting phone-based services would remove the primary way they are able to get the help they need from the Social Security Administration. On their behalf, we urge you to focus your attention on ensuring SSA has the knowledgeable staff it needs to fully provide the customer service the American public has paid for and earned.

Sincerely,

Max Richtman
President and CEO