**GAO-10-586T**                      Published: Apr 15, 2010. Publicly Released: Apr 15, 2010.                  

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## Highlights

Millions of people rely on the services of Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices. In fiscal year 2009, SSA's approximately 1,300 field offices provided service to a record 45.1 million customers. People visit field offices to apply for Social Security cards, apply for retirement and disability benefits, request replacement benefit checks, and a host of other services. Over the last several years, growing workloads have challenged field offices' ability to manage work while continuing to deliver quality customer service. The Subcommittee asked GAO to discuss our January 2009 report on SSA field office service delivery challenges. Specifically, this testimony will discuss (1) the state of SSA field office operations, and (2) the status of SSA's efforts to develop a plan to address future service delivery challenges. To respond to the request, GAO relied primarily on the January 2009 report titled Social Security Administration: Service Delivery Plan Needed to Address Baby Boom Retirement Challenges (GAO-09-24, Jan. 2009), and updated it with additional information provided by SSA. In that report, GAO recommended that SSA develop a service delivery plan that explains how it will deliver quality service while managing growing work demands. SSA agreed to develop a document that describes service delivery and staffing plans. No new recommendations are being made in this testimony.

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## Topics

Government Operations

Baby boomersBeneficiariesClaims processingContinuity of operationsCustomer serviceDelivery termsDisability benefitsEligibility determinationsEmployee retentionEmployeesErroneous paymentsFederal social security programsIncome maintenance programsInsurancePersonnel recruitingProgram evaluationQuality assuranceQuality controlQuality improvementReductions in forceRetirementRetirement benefitsRetirement incomeRisk assessmentRisk managementService disruptionSocial security beneficiariesSocial security benefitsStaff utilizationStandardsStrategic planningSupplemental security incomeTotal quality managementPolicies and procedures