Social Security offices around the country are closed, though they’re scheduled to officially reopen in April, while the Social Security Administration has moved many of its services online. As a result, according to a new report this week, many people who are calling to apply for Social Security or ask questions are having trouble getting through.

According to CNBC, one woman has been trying to call for some time in relation to her application for her husband’s retirement benefits, but she has been placed on hold every time she’s called, often for as long as an hour.

“You call, and you’re on hold forever,” the woman said. “For three weeks now, I’ve been trying to get in touch with them.” According to CNBC, the average wait time for Social Security’s customer service number was 13.5 minutes in 2021, although it was longer than that in some individual months.

The Social Security Administration appears aware of the problem. They issued a report last fall admitting that “the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially transformed federal agency business processes and customer service,” and that the agency needs to do a better job in helping customers more efficiently.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that in many cases — and particularly for low-income seniors and people with disabilities — there is often no substitute for individualized, in-person assistance,” Rep John Larson (D-CT), chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, wrote in a letter last December to Social Security Administration commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi.

Kijakazi responded, laying out some steps being taken by the agency. These include changes in how the agency deals with replacement cards, as well as expanding the hours that offices are open for appointments, prior to the official reopening of the offices in April.

The commissioner also laid out how that will work. “We recently reached reentry agreements with all three of our unions, and subject to the course of the pandemic, we are planning agency-wide reentry and the implementation of new telework schedules for most employees on March 30, 2022,” he wrote to Chairman Larson, although that date has since been delayed until April. Furthermore, the senior staff of the SSA returned to their offices in December.

This year, Social Security recipients are getting a 6.2 percent cost of living raise in their benefits, the largest increase since the early 1980s, and that increase went into effect in January. This was the result of rising inflation since last year, although concerns have been raised that the inflation that is continuing to rise will take a bite out of the benefits that Social Security collectors are receiving. 

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.