In 2008, SSA’s administrative budget for managing its operations  was $11.1 billion. Measuring Performance

SSA measures its performance in managing its workloads in various ways. SSA Has Faced Challenges with Disability Claims Backlogs and Field Office Service Delivery

SSA has experienced increased backlogs and processing times associated  with disability claims in recent years, as well as declines in measures of  field office service. For example, the number of initial applications for DI  and SSI benefits increased by 21 percent overall from fiscal years 1997 to  2006, contributing to the claims backlog and adding additional pressures  to field office personnel who initially review these claims. Field Office Service Delivery Challenges

In addition to disability claims backlogs and increased processing times,  other aspects of SSA’s service delivery at field offices have declined in  recent years. In fiscal year 2008, more than 3 million  customers waited for over 1 hour to be served. From fiscal year 2005 to 2008,  SSA experienced a 2.9 percent reduction in total employees and a 4.4  percent reduction in field office employees. Future Workload and Staffing Challenges

SSA projects an increase in disability claims and other workloads over the  coming years while at the same time anticipates the retirement of many  experienced workers. SSA Continues to Take Steps to Address Disability Claims Backlogs and Service Delivery Challenges

SSA continues to take steps to address disability claims backlogs and  service delivery challenges, including efforts to improve its disability  claims process, redistribute workloads across field offices, and develop a  plan for addressing future growth in disability and retirement claims. Some of these efforts have been hampered by poor planning while others  are too recent to evaluate. SSA’s efforts to reduce the hearings backlog may be supported by  additional funds through recent legislation. As part of this review, we will (1) examine the plan’s potential  to eliminate the hearings-level backlog, (2) determine the extent to which  the plan includes components of sound planning, and (3) identify potential  unintended effects of the plan on hearings level operations and other  aspects of the disability process. Shifting Workloads and Maintaining Staffing Levels

To address overall workloads and maintain customer service, SSA is  shifting workloads to less busy offices. Specifically, SSA has  focused on field office work it considers essential to its “core workloads,”  such as processing new claims for Social Security benefits and issuing  Social Security cards, while deferring other types of work including  changes of address, changes to direct deposit information, and reviews to  determine beneficiaries’ continuing eligibility for DI and SSI benefits. Reviews of continuing eligibility, however, are key activities in ensuring  payment accuracy. However, in the past, SSA has  encountered obstacles that delay hiring. While a consolidated planning  document will better reflect the variety of planning efforts SSA has to  improve its operations, it remains unclear how SSA will manage growing  workloads with its current infrastructure of approximately 1,300 field  offices, while minimizing the deferral of its workloads and declines in  customer service. Over the years and across many fronts, SSA has taken numerous and  varied steps to address its backlog of disability claims and its service  delivery challenges, but often with mixed results or at the expense of some  other key services. Social Security Administration: Service Delivery Plan Needed to Address  Baby Boom Retirement Challenges (GAO-09-24, January 9, 2009). Social Security Disability: Better Planning, Management, and Evaluation  Could Help Address Backlogs (GAO-08-40, December 7, 2007).
Why GAO Did This Study

For years, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has experienced challenges managing a large disability workload and making timely decisions. In fiscal year 2006, SSA made about 3.7 million disability claims decisions, while over a million were awaiting a decision. Further, SSA has faced staffing challenges and difficulties managing its workloads at its network of approximately 1,300 field offices, where millions of people go to apply for disability and retirement benefits, to obtain Social Security cards, and for a host of other services. The Subcommittees on Income Security and Family Support, and on Social Security, House Committee on Ways and Means, asked GAO to address (1) key service delivery challenges facing SSA, particularly with respect to the backlog of disability claims, and (2) steps SSA is taking to address these challenges. This testimony is based primarily on reports assessing trends in disability claims processing and backlogs, steps SSA is taking to reduce the backlog, and other challenges SSA faces in meeting future service delivery needs. Certain information was updated to reflect recent legislative changes.

What GAO Found

In recent years, SSA has experienced a growing backlog of disability claims and deteriorating customer service at field offices. SSA's total backlog of disability claims doubled from 1997, reaching 576,000 in 2006, which has resulted in claimants waiting longer for final decisions. The backlog was particularly acute at the hearings level. SSA also experienced declines in field office service delivery, with average customer wait times in field offices increasing by 40 percent from 2002 to 2006, and over 3 million customers waiting more than 1 hour to be served in 2008. Two key factors likely contributed to the backlog and service delivery challenges: (1) staffing reductions or turnover of field office staff and key personnel involved in the disability claims process, and (2) increased workloads. In particular, initial applications for disability benefits grew by more than 20 percent over the past 10 years. SSA projects further increases in workloads as the baby boom generation reaches its disability-prone years and retires. SSA has taken steps to improve its disability claims process, reduce the claims backlog, and manage its field office workloads, but some efforts were hampered by poor planning and execution while others are too recent to evaluate. In 2006, SSA introduced a comprehensive set of reforms to improve the efficiency, accuracy and timeliness of the disability claims process. However, this initiative produced mixed results and many aspects were suspended to focus on the hearings backlog and other priorities. While final decisions regarding many aspects of this reform are pending, SSA outlined a new plan in 2007 that concentrates on clearing out backlogged cases at the hearings level. GAO is currently reviewing this plan as part of its ongoing work. To address overall workloads and maintain customer service, SSA has shifted workloads to less busy offices and deferred workloads it deemed lower priority. However, deferring certain workloads, such as continuing eligibility reviews, can result in beneficiaries receiving payments who no longer qualify. In response to a recent GAO recommendation, SSA agreed to develop a single service delivery plan to help it better manage future service delivery challenges. However, it remains unclear how SSA will address current and future challenges given its current service delivery infrastructure and resource constraints.