Social Security says its phone service is getting better - but watchdogs warn callback wait times can run over an hour

By Alessandra Malito

The SSA Inspector General's report says the agency's telephone service performance metrics are accurate after senator's request for analysis

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General's latest report says wait times for telephone customer service are significantly down from their peaks earlier in the fiscal year.

The Social Security Administration's claims that its customer service has shown significant improvement are accurate, a government oversight group reported Monday, but critics argue the report's conclusion misses a key point - callers still wait a long time for help.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General said the agency's average speed of answer was only seven minutes in September, down from 12 minutes the same time the year before and an improvement from fiscal year 2025's overall peak of 30 minutes in January. The findings were in response to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren's request in July for an audit of the agency's telephone customer-service times.

The audit was meant to determine if the key metrics the agency shares with the public about wait times were accurate, as well as how it collects telephone data and what those wait times actually are.

But the report's conclusion - that telephone customer service is improving - addresses only part of the issue, and the actual findings within the report show the larger picture, Warren said in a statement Monday. The report's conclusion relies on the average speed of answer, which includes callbacks so that callers are not actively waiting on the phone. The average-speed-of-answer metric does not include the time in between the initial call and the callback.

"The bottom line is that Donald Trump's Social Security chief lied about call wait times to cover up his customer-service mess," Warren said in her statement. "This new watchdog report reveals that true wait times were more than three times higher than what Commissioner [Frank] Bisignano claimed, and tens of millions of callers were simply unable to get help on the phone at all."

The Social Security Administration's customer service has been a major focal point this year. In February, the agency announced a reorganization as part of a wave of cuts to the federal government led by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to root out waste, fraud and abuse. As part of its mandate, the agency has examined and tried to improve the way it conducted identity verification or worked with customers online, on the phone and in person.

See: Social Security's new commissioner, rule reversals and cost cuts: Here's everything that's happening at the agency

The Inspector General's office determined the agency's telephone customer-service data was accurate after recalculating monthly performance metrics, the report said.

There are, however, other metrics that provide a fuller picture of telephone customer service, and were also included in the report, experts argued.

"It's encouraging that [the Social Security Administration] has reportedly improved on customer service with overall shorter phone wait times, though more work needs to be done," Jenn Jones, vice president of financial security at AARP, said in a statement. "Wait times for callbacks remain over an hour, and more than a quarter of callers are not being served - by getting disconnected or never receiving a callback, for instance."

"AARP will continue to work with SSA and Congress to ensure the agency keeps improving its service and delivers timely and accurate information to the tens of millions of older adults relying on Social Security," Jones added.

Other metrics to consider

The average queue wait time, which does not include callbacks and where callers simply stay on the line on hold to receive help, was just about 19 minutes in September, down from its fiscal year peak of one hour and 40 minutes in January.

Another metric is the average wait time for a callback, where callers elect to have the agency call them back instead of waiting on hold. The OIG found the average wait time for a callback was one hour and two minutes in September, down from its peak of two hours and 32 minutes in January. (The lowest average wait time for callback was actually in July, at just under 60 minutes, the report found.)

About 25 million calls ended without service in fiscal year 2025, such as when callers were disconnected, callers did not answer callback services or the callbacks were canceled at the end of the day, the report found. Callers may have also experienced a busy message, where they receive a message to call back when the lines aren't full. In fiscal year 2025, the agency's busy-message rate averaged about 6%, though it spiked in March and April at 29.4% and 15.4%, respectively.

Still, the OIG report said the Social Security Administration has focused heavily on improving customer service for callers. "The agency improved performance because it used a new telecommunications platform and staff realignments," the report said. "The new platform increased call volume capacity and expanded self-service and automated options. The [Social Security Administration] also used the new platform's capabilities to identify in real-time ways to better serve callers, target training and improve frequently asked questions."

Warren and Bisignano, who was confirmed in May, met in July to discuss customer service. During the meeting, the senator told the commissioner she had requested an audit of the agency's telephone service data and he briefed her on the strides the agency was making to improve service, the Social Security Administration said in a press release on Monday.

"The results of the audit come as no surprise to anyone following the historic progress we are making at the agency under President Trump's leadership," Bisignano said in a statement. "We are serving more Americans at significantly faster speeds than ever before. While partisan politicians are attempting to undermine trust of SSA, we are determined to continue improving customer service online, on the phone and in person at field offices."

-Alessandra Malito

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12-23-25 0730ET