The Social Security Administration (SSA) is making a major internal shift by directing many employees who normally process benefits and claims to instead answer customer phone calls. This decision is meant to improve response times on the agency’s national phone line, but many employees say it could slow down claims processing and increase existing backlogs. The change comes at a time when the agency is already dealing with staffing shortages and millions of pending cases.

Why SSA Is Reassigning Employees to Phone Duty

According to internal communications described by employees, SSA has reassigned workers from several departments to help handle incoming calls. These include staff who usually process retirement and disability claims, manage financial records, support technology systems, and handle quality reviews. Many of these workers have little or no prior experience answering public phone inquiries.

The agency says the move is designed to improve customer service and make better use of available staff. Officials have stated that new technology and process improvements have created efficiencies, allowing more workers to be temporarily reassigned to customer support roles. The goal is to ensure that more callers can reach a live representative when they contact the SSA’s national 1-800 number.

However, employees say the reality on the ground is more complicated. They report that the departments losing staff are the same ones responsible for reducing claim and appeal backlogs. Moving trained processors away from their regular duties may reduce phone wait times in the short term but could increase delays in benefit decisions and payments.

Training Time Reportedly Limited for Reassigned Workers

Several employees say that the training provided before being placed on phone duty has been very short. Some report receiving only a few hours of instruction before being asked to start taking live calls. They say that even longer training would not fully prepare them, because many calls involve complex personal situations, multiple benefit programs, or special legal and immigration issues.

In their regular jobs, many of these employees never speak directly with the public. Their work usually involves reviewing documents, verifying eligibility, calculating benefits, and processing approvals or appeals. Switching suddenly to high-volume phone support requires different systems, tools, and communication skills.

Agency representatives have responded that employees are receiving appropriate training and that intelligent call routing systems will send them only the types of calls they are prepared to handle. They also say escalation paths are available when a caller’s issue is too complex. Still, workers say that in practice they often encounter situations beyond their training and must pause calls to seek help from supervisors.

Staffing Reductions Have Increased Pressure

The reassignment effort follows a large reduction in SSA staff over the past year. Government workforce data shows that more than 7,000 employees left the agency through buyouts, retirements, or layoffs. This reportedly included a significant number of experienced contact representatives who previously specialized in handling phone inquiries.

Employees and union representatives say these losses reduced service capacity across the agency. With fewer trained phone agents available, management is now pulling in workers from other units to fill the gap. Critics argue that this creates a cycle where solving one service problem creates another.

Some field offices and processing centers have already sent hundreds of workers into rotating phone assignments. In certain locations, entire teams of claims specialists are reportedly spending most or all of their time answering calls instead of processing cases.

Risk of Growing Claims and Appeals Backlogs

Many reassigned employees say a large share of incoming calls are from people asking about the status of their claims, appeals, or paperwork. Ironically, the same workers now answering those calls are often the ones who would normally be responsible for moving those cases forward.

Employees worry that removing processing staff from their core duties will slow casework and cause backlogs to grow again. Recent reports had shown progress in reducing certain backlogs, including disability claims and processing center workloads. Workers fear that progress could be reversed if the reassignment continues for a long period.

Managers are also described as being under pressure. They must meet case completion targets while having fewer staff available to do the work. Some offices are dealing with additional challenges such as weather closures and equipment or software access issues for newly reassigned phone staff.

Complex Calls Add to Employee Stress

Although the reassignment plan is said to focus on “simple” calls such as address changes, card replacements, and status checks, employees say many calls quickly become complicated. Situations can involve incarceration status, immigration questions, language barriers, duplicate records, or unclear identity information. These cases often require specialized knowledge and system permissions that reassigned staff may not have.

Workers describe the experience as stressful and confusing, with many saying they are learning while already on live calls. Some report difficulty even finding the right supervisor or expert to transfer a call to when advanced help is needed. This has added to frustration among both employees and callers.

Agency Says Move Will Improve Customer Service

SSA leadership maintains that the strategy is meant to deliver better customer service and faster phone access. Officials say that technology improvements and smarter routing will ensure callers are directed to staff who can handle their questions. They also emphasize that support and escalation channels are available behind the scenes.

From management’s point of view, shifting staff is a flexible way to respond to high call volumes without waiting for new hires to be fully trained. The agency is also recruiting new contact representatives in several locations to rebuild phone support capacity.

Whether the approach will reduce overall service delays or simply shift them from phone queues to claims backlogs remains to be seen. Employees and their representatives say the long-term solution is broader staffing and deeper training, not just reassignment.

Disclaimer

This article is based on reported employee accounts, internal communications described by staff, and official agency statements available at the time of writing. Operational details and policies may change. Readers should refer to official Social Security Administration announcements or speak directly with SSA representatives for the most current and personalized information.