May 30, 2025

Social Security Phone Service Changes Will Create Unnecessary Burdens

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s Social Security phone service restrictions will make it harder for seniors to access customer service support, according to new data from the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates that the updates will force beneficiaries to make more than 1 million additional trips to field offices, exacerbating difficulties for the more than 6 million older Americans who do not drive, and almost 8 million seniors who have trouble traveling due to medical conditions or disabilities.

To visit a field office in no traffic, half of all seniors nationally must drive at least 33 minutes, and for 13 million seniors it is an hour’s drive roundtrip. In ten states, over 40 percent of seniors would
have to drive more than an hour roundtrip, and in 31 states, over 25 percent of seniors would spend at least an hour traveling. Wyoming has the highest percentage of seniors who would need to travel such long distances (71 percent) and Vermont has the second highest (64.4 percent). There are only three field offices in both of those states, making accessible phone services especially critical.

On Thursday, SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano announced a new plan to use artificial intelligence to address long phone waiting times.

“DOGE’s systematic dismantling of the SSA has put unreasonable pressures on seniors. Older Americans shouldn’t have to travel long distances to ensure that they get the benefits they’ve earned,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Restricting
access to Social Security customer service support in this way is not what Americans have paid for.”

This was originally published in the May 30, 2025 edition of the Friday Alert. Read the full length version and see other Friday Alert editions here.