Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano will not "entirely remove the option for beneficiaries to receive paper checks" after a recent announcement that the agency would stop issuing them, according to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
SSA recently announced that it would stop sending paper checks Sept. 30, "which would significantly disrupt services for some of the most vulnerable Americans," Warren said Wednesday in a statement. In a meeting with Warren, Bisignano "backtracked, confirming that paper checks will remain an option for beneficiaries who need them," Warren said.
Less than 1% of beneficiaries, or about 520,000 people, receive paper checks, according to the SSA.
Warren, leader of Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, said Wednesday that she had "secured key commitments and admissions" from Bisignano during a private meeting.
"The commitments relate to data and metrics, staffing, paper checks, and more," Warren said.
Bisignano also agreed to an independent inspector general investigation of Social Security service data and metrics, according to the senator.
"Recent reporting highlighted that under Bisignano’s watch, SSA has removed key service metrics, such as call wait times, from its website," Warren said.
An investigation from Warren’s office "revealed that the remaining metrics appear to be inaccurate and misleading," she said Wednesday.
Bisignano agreed in the meeting with Warren to an independent audit of "both the collecting and reporting of data," Warren said, and "also committed that specific data will be publicly reported, such as the number of dropped calls, how often calls are transferred to incorrect departments, and what percentage of callers actually resolve their issue over the phone."
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