The Good News About Social Security Administration Customer Service

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Q: In a recent column, you highlighted some harsh words from a guy who was critical of the government in general and the Social Security Administration in particular.

I just wanted to tell you that my recent experience with the SSA filing a claim for retirement benefits could not have gone more smoothly. I used the online application process, and everything went like clockwork. My claim was finished in less than a week and my first check showed up in my bank account right on time. Can you please let people know the system works?

Q: It really galls me to hear people criticize the Social Security Administration and lambaste you as a former employee of the agency. You should know that our recent dealings with SSA were top-rate. The representative we dealt with was courteous, classy, and knowledgeable. We could not have been happier with the service we received.

Q: I don’t see how you put up with those nasty, finger-pointing old goats who seem to have nothing better to do than gripe about alleged poor service from the Social Security Administration. My guess is that whatever problems they might have had with the agency came about in large part because of the big chip they have on their shoulder when it comes to anything having to do with the government. My wife and I just wanted you to know that our recent interaction with SSA employees when we filed for our retirement benefits was exceptional. They were very helpful.

Q: What I want to know is: Why are you so willing to publish diatribes from people who are so critical of an agency you spent most of your life working for? I just think you should know that when I recently signed up for my retirement benefits, the local Social Security office people were very efficient and courteous. The young woman who took care of me was professional in every way. The entire process was smooth and simple. Please publish the good news about SSA and stop highlighting the few bad apples.

A: These are just a few of the emails I received following a recent column in which, once again, some guy was critical of the Social Security Administration and its employees. And sadly, those critical emails usually outnumber the glowing ones. But I’m sure that has a lot to do with the fact that people are much more likely to complain about poor service than they are to acknowledge and praise good service. That’s why I was so pleased to get the emails that I printed in today’s column.

Some readers may remember a customer service survey column I wrote about several years ago. I was getting lots of emails from readers critical of the SSA’s services or of the allegedly bad advice they were getting from the agency’s representatives. Once again, I figured that people were much more likely to write and complain about bad service than they were to send me accolades praising good service.

So I decided to test my theory by conducting a survey of my readers. I got hundreds of responses. Long story short: A vast majority—almost 90 percent—of respondents said they were happy and satisfied with the service they got from the SSA.

That was the good news for the Social Security Administration and its employees. But there was another side to that coin. I was able to glean this bit of information from the responses. SSA’s front-line employees did routine work very well. And fortunately, most of us have rather routine experiences with Social Security. We turn 62 or 67 and want to file for retirement benefits, and that’s that. It’s all rather simple and cut and dried.

But if your Social Security situation is not quite routine, then, sadly, SSA reps sometimes fall down on the job. And I think a lot of this has to do with training. When I started working for the SSA in 1973, I went to a highly intensive and vigorous three-month class that was taught by very expert trainers—front-line supervisory people who had been with the agency for decades and who had seen it all. And they passed all this knowledge on to us young neophytes—comprehensive facts and information that carried us through our careers. But regrettably, that’s not the way things work anymore. Today, new SSA hires get about 6 weeks of mostly online computer training. That’s just not the way to teach raw recruits about all the complicated Social Security rules and regulations.

So if you are John Q. or Jane Q. Public, what are you supposed to do if you are pushing Social Security age and you are about to deal with the Social Security Administration for the first time?

Well, as I alluded to earlier, most of you probably have fairly routine situations. You are about to retire and you want to apply for your Social Security benefits, and that’s all. In that case, I recommend you get on your computer and go to SocialSecurity.gov and file online. The whole process is really quite simple.

But if you’ve got a Social Security case with a few wrinkles—like having a spouse eligible for Social Security benefits at the same time; like possibly being eligible for benefits on two different accounts (usually your own and a living or deceased or divorced husband or wife); or like wanting to file for benefits before full retirement age but continue working part-time—then I recommend you talk to someone in person by calling the SSA at 800-772-1213. If the first person you talk to seems a little hesitant or unsure of himself or herself, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Or send an email to a highly trained but now retired former SSA representative who writes a nationally syndicated column about Social Security issues. I can’t take your claim, but I certainly will be able to answer your questions.