Social Security Disability can be long and frustrating. As the wait-times increase, the service is declining, according to this article. Here is an excerpt:
Unlike his fellow Republicans, President-elect Donald Trump has pledged not to reduce Social Security benefits.
From his vantage point in Trump Tower, however, he might not realize that Social Security service has already been cut, significantly.
A new report from the Social Security Administration’s inspector general (IG) confirms what beneficiaries already know – service isn’t what it used to be. Neither is the wait to see a Social Security staffer. Service is down, and waits are up.
“The IG’s report is not surprising to us,” said Cristina Martin Firvida, AARP’s director of economic security. “We do hear from members … and our own loved ones. We hear from everyone that this is increasingly becoming an issue.”
Consider these telling statistics from the IG’s report: “for all regions, the number of field office visitors who waited longer than 1 hour for service increased from 2.3 million in FY 2010 to 4.5 million in FY 2015 – a 95 percent increase.”
Social Security officials acknowledge the bad service.
“Our service budget has been underfunded since FY 2010,” an agency statement said. “The number of Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients has already risen by 12 percent since 2010, resulting in service deterioration since we simultaneously have had less funding to serve them. … Additionally, Social Security’s enacted budgets for service have not kept pace with inflation.”
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