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Social Security Reallocates 1,000 Field Representatives to Overburdened Phone Line

The reassignment increases the 1-800 line’s staffing by 25 percent in a bid to tackle record wait times.

A sign for the U.S. Social Security Administration is seen outside its headquarters in Woodlawn, Md., on Thursday, March 20, 2025.
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Overview

  • The SSA reassigned about 1,000 customer service reps from field offices to its national toll-free line on July 10, raising phone-center staff by roughly 25 percent at the expense of field-office capacity.
  • Between January and June 2025 the agency’s 1-800 number received an average of 8.6 million calls per month with wait times averaging 93 minutes, compared with 6.6 million calls and 75-minute waits in early 2024.
  • AFGE Council 220 President Jessica LaPointe warns the shift will leave field offices short-handed for complex case processing and only offers a temporary fix.
  • This latest move follows an April initiative that reassigned 2,000 central-office employees to front-line roles and a June schedule change that set fixed 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shifts for phone agents.
  • Staffing cuts under DOGE’s cost-savings directives have driven the beneficiary-to-staff ratio to nearly 1,480 to one and prompted criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers over persistent service delays.