WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Social Security Administration reduced telephone wait times by nearly 80% and cut its disability claims backlog by 23% over two years, according to fiscal 2026 performance figures released by the agency, as expanded digital services and changes to processing operations accelerated access to federal benefits.
The agency reported an average telephone answer time of 5.6 minutes in fiscal 2026, down from 28 minutes in fiscal 2024. It also reduced the backlog of initial disability claims from nearly 1.2 million to 911,000 over the same period.
The improvements accompanied an 8% increase in agency productivity during fiscal 2026, following a 10% increase the previous year, according to the SSA.
Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano attributed the gains to expanded technology, automated services and operational changes designed to reduce delays across telephone, online and in-person service channels.
“SSA’s digital-first strategy is driving transformational improvements and historic results across the agency,” Bisignano stated.
The agency reported maintaining a zero percent busy rate on its national telephone line during the final six months of fiscal 2026, while achieving its highest call-answer rate in more than a decade.
Automated call routing and interactive voice response systems handled 40% of calls, reducing the volume requiring direct assistance from agency employees.
Service improvements extended to Social Security field offices, where average wait times declined more than 30% compared with fiscal 2024. The agency served nearly 30 million in-person visitors nationwide during fiscal 2026.
Every field office telephone line now offers an automated self-service option, replacing a system that lacked that capability in fiscal 2024.
The SSA also expanded online availability by eliminating approximately 29 hours of weekly website downtime, providing continuous access to personal my Social Security accounts.
The change contributed to more than 10 million additional account logins over the past year, according to the agency.
Online transactions reached 571 million in fiscal 2026, an increase of 30% from fiscal 2024. Registered my Social Security account holders surpassed 105 million, up 20% over the same period.
Disability benefits processing also improved, although the agency continues to carry a substantial volume of unresolved applications.
Average processing time for initial disability claims declined by 40 days, or 17%, compared with fiscal 2024. The average wait for a disability hearing fell by 72 days over the two-year period.
The remaining backlog of 911,000 initial disability claims underscores the scale of the agency’s workload despite the reduction from nearly 1.2 million at the end of fiscal 2024.
Beyond customer service, the SSA reported recovering $645 million in delinquent program debt for Social Security trust funds after resuming collections through the Treasury Offset Program in March 2025.
The agency also completed a large-scale correction of its Social Security number records, updating nearly 15% of active records.
That work included adding 17 million previously missing dates of death and updating approximately 25 million records lacking citizenship information. The agency said it strengthened internal controls intended to prevent similar data-entry problems.
The SSA also reported reducing outstanding audit recommendations to their lowest level in 40 years and generating $16 billion in savings since fiscal 2024.
Separately, the agency estimated that its service improvements saved the public 200 million hours of waiting time in fiscal 2025, equivalent to approximately 100,000 work years.
The performance figures reflect the administration’s emphasis on digital access, automated processing and program oversight as the SSA continues managing retirement, disability and other federal benefit programs.
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