The Social Security Administration officially declared the system-wide upgrade of its technology infrastructure on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, as part of an agency-wide modernization initiative led by new Commissioner Frank Bisignano. The major development affects the agency’s contact channels and methods of service delivery, reaching the approximately 70 million Americans who rely on Social Security benefits every month.
Commissioner Bisignano, who was sworn on May 6, 2025, after his confirmation by the Senate in a 53-47 vote, has made technology modernization a top priority since taking office. “Our vision is focused on delivering exceptional service that works for all those we serve—whether they call, visit one of our field offices, or prefer to conduct their benefits online,” Bisignano stated in the official press release.
Historic overhauls of the national phone system
The most significant update is the SSA’s National 800 Number (1-800-772-1213), which was drastically revamped technologically. The agency said it answered nearly 1.3 million calls during the week of the announcement—a 70% increase over the comparable week last year.
Most notably, the average wait time has been reduced by half from 30 minutes last year to just 6 minutes—a reduction of 80% in call hold time. This improvement erases one of the most persistent complaints made by Social Security recipients who previously were faced with excessive hold-up periods while trying to reach agency representatives.
Artificial intelligence integration
As part of Commissioner Bisignano’s overall effort, its phone system. The agency now processes around 90% of calls automatically through self-service options or callback, significantly reducing the need to be put on hold.
“We’re going through a gigantic technology effort to update the servicing agenda,” Bisignano said in earlier interviews. “We’re gonna bring AI into the phone system.I’m gonna get it done this year”.
Improved telecommunications infrastructure
The technology updates go far beyond the national phone number to include 841 field offices nationwide, or 70% of all SSA field offices. The agency plans to have the full rollout to all field offices and card centers completed by the end of summer 2025.
These upgrades have already yielded measurable gains in field office performance. In-person wait times have reduced from 30 minutes to an average of 23 minutes—a 23% improvement that serves Americans with face-to-face preferences instantly.
The new platform technology introduces enhanced services features to improve the quality, reliability, and timeliness of calls at all contact points. Field offices benefit from access to the same high level of telecommunications infrastructure successfully deployed on the national 800 number.
Implementation of 24/7 online access
As part of phone system upgrades, the SSA has eliminated planned downtime for its “my Social Security” online portal, providing uninterruptible 24/7 access to recipients. Previously, customers were subject to up to 29 hours of system downtime per week, causing enormous inconvenience to those trying to manage their benefits online.
During the first week following this enhancement, 125,000 additional users logged in to their accounts successfully, thus exhibiting the immediate impact of increased access. This serves to complete Bisignano’s vision of reaching beneficiaries “where they want to be” via all channels of service.
Operational efficiency and resource management
Despite being afflicted with personnel shortages—cutting the staff from around 57,000 to 50,000 employees—the SSA has utilized strategic resource alignment to assure and advance levels of service. The agency has reallocated field office workers to support telephone operations so as to adequately staff the enhanced telephone systems.
The technical advancements are supported by extensive process engineering activities designed to streamline the operations. The advancements are focused on fulfilling customer requirements at the very first contact point and reducing the requirement for sequential interactions to resolve issues.
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