On December 1, 2021, the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General released two reports detailing the increased wait times of decision making and the difficulties many have faced with speaking to someone at the Social Security Administration.
A report entitled “Comparing the Social Security Administration’s Disability Determination Services’ Workloads During the COVID-19 Pandemic to Prior Years” found that although the Disability Determination Services (DDS) received 15.9% fewer claims from April 2020 through March 2021 than the previous year, the average processing time increased by 46%. Similarly, DDS received 9.8 fewer requests for reconsideration between April 2020 and March 2021 than it did the year before, but the average processing time increased by 25.8%.
A report entitled “The Social Security Administration’s Telephone Service Performance” found that in the fiscal year 2020 callers to Social Security had their calls “handled” only 51% of the time. The word “handled” does not mean that the reason for calling was resolved, rather that the caller spoke to someone at Social Security. 4% of callers received a busy signal and 45% of calls were reported as an “abandoned” call meaning the call was either disconnected or the caller hung up, most likely as a result of long wait times. The report stated that the average wait time to speak to a representative at Social Security was 28 minutes.
We here at Gardberg and Kemmerly, P.C. know how frustrating waiting on your claim with Social Security can be and we’re here to help. Let us help you with your claim for Social Security disability benefits. Contact an experienced Social Security disability attorney at Gardberg & Kemmerly, P.C. today at 251-343-1111 for a free case evaluation. Gardberg & Kemmerly, P.C. represents Social Security disability claimants in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana at all levels of the disability process from initial application to appeals to Federal Court.