The Social Security Administration plans to introduce a system requiring its employees to tackle a nationwide inventory of cases — a change that seems "designed to fail" and could have "castastrophic consequences for beneficiaries," according to a Social Security advocate.
"SSA is rolling out a National Appointment Scheduling Calendar (NASC) and National Workload Management (NWLM) for all field operations, digital services, and processing centers," according to Federal News Network. Both systems will launch on March 7.
The NASC will replace SSA’s current system for scheduling initial claims appointments, as well as local field office calendars, Federal News Network reported, citing a Dec. 19 memo obtained by the publication.
The news, according to Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, essentially "would mean that someone who needs help with their Social Security could get directed to a SSA staffer across the country, instead of at their local field office."
Under the Trump administration, SSA "forced out thousands of the Social Security Administration’s most experienced employees," Altman said in an emailed statement.
"Scrambling to address this self-inflicted wound, the administration has announced plans to cut field offices in half and is rushing out a new way of dealing with workload that is designed to fail," Altman continued. "If implemented, it will have catastrophic consequences for Social Security beneficiaries, and the public more generally."
SSA "is still scheduling in-person appointments for initial claims and will continue to provide the public with in-person service at our more than 1,200 field offices nationwide," an SSA spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor Friday in an email. "We remain committed to ensuring that all individuals have access to the services they need and serving everyone in the way they wish to be served, including the option for in-person assistance.”
According to Federal News Network, "SSA employees will use the NASC to schedule all initial claims appointments, and will also allow the public to self-schedule initial claims appointments."
The National Workload Management system will serve as the agency’s central workload management system, the publication reported.
"According to the memo, the system will distribute work to employees nationwide based on their 'skillset, knowledge, and availability,'” Federal News Network said.
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said in a statement shared with ThinkAdvisor Friday while "there is nothing wrong, per se, with upgrading technology systems at SSA, ... SSA appears to be using these system changes to paper over staffing shortages at the agency, promulgated by the Trump Administration and DOGE."
Wth the national network, "SSA appears to be re-arranging resources in order to compensate for slashing staff at a time when the number of Social Security beneficiaries is ever increasing. We echo the concerns expressed by SSA employees that the newly-announced service changes could negatively affect customers, especially beneficiaries calling from one state but having their calls answered by SSA staff in another state."
More Troubling Scenarios
Once the claim is initiated, "if there is suspicion that you may not be who you say you are, and you are asked to come into an office and prove your identity, must you fly to New Orleans?" Altman said. "Must someone who has not worked on your case take it over? Must you start the application process all over again?"
What's more, Social Security "often interacts with state laws," Altman relayed.
For instance, "eligibility for Social Security spousal benefits can depend on how a state treats common law marriages. The same with the need to understand worker compensation laws, which differ in every state," Altman said.
"Already overworked SSA staffers can’t realistically become experts in the laws of all 50 states," Altman added. "Is the plan to rely on artificial intelligence rather than a trained civil servant who has been processing claims in their community for decades?"
Another potential problem: Documents like green cards or driver’s licenses "are not ones that people can easily mail and be without for even a day," Altman added. "How will that work if the staffer handling the case is across the country?"
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