Social Security Is Modernizing. Here’s How The Latest Changes Could Affect Users

The Social Security Administration is implementing changes to its service it says will improve efficiency and strengthen the program. Some advocates worry that beneficiaries will be left behind.

The changes prioritize a digital approach, including ending physical benefits checks, redirecting field office staff to help support the agency’s 800 number, enabling digital Social Security number access, and adding a chatbot to answer questions. The Social Security Administration says its changes will make the SSA easier to access, faster to respond, and better prepared to “meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

Advocates, however, worry that the changes will instead make the agency—on which more than 70 million people rely for its benefits each month—inaccessible for those who lack computer skills or reliable internet. Modernization, they argue might not be practical for older beneficiaries who have accessed their benefits and asked questions the same way for years.

Advocates’ concerns are less about the need for or benefits of modernization than the worry that changes will happen too fast for the people who rely on Social Security to keep up. Nonpartisan seniors group The Senior Citizens League, or TSCL, estimates that nearly 22 million seniors live solely off their Social Security benefits.

“Baby steps are needed,” said Shannon Benton, TSCL’s executive director. “Too many seniors are scared right now.”

Updates Efficiency, Digital Access and Faster Service

The concept of modernizing the agency isn’t new. Presidential administrations have suggested or made changes for years. Many experts broadly agree that updates are worthwhile. The Trump administration believes a more modernized SSA will result in lower wait times both at field offices and online, constant access to accounts, and increased security.

Useful updates include faster and more accurate processing, improved access to benefits and support, and the ability for beneficiaries to file claims and track disputes, according to Benton, as well as reductions in paperwork, mailing, and labor costs, and better fraud detection and security.

“Digitization could provide significant benefits for both the SSA and its beneficiaries,” Benton said.

The agency last month reported nearly 40 million successful transactions through its online services. According to the SSA, self-service functions handled 1.7 million calls, while an agent handled 3.5 million calls. The agency says agent-handled calls were answered in nine minutes on average. The SSA website has also been updated to no longer require broad stretches of downtime, per the agency.

The agency said compared to service levels in August of 2024, these numbers reflect a reduction in wait times across the board.

Post-call surveys showed overall customer satisfaction with the 800 number service, according to a spokesperson from the agency. A small survey conducted by TSCL suggest that many visitor experience much longer waits, or report they couldn’t reach people at all, according to Benton.

The agency argues that secure digital access to Social Security numbers will improve efficiency. This “reduces the need” for in-person visits and makes it so beneficiaries don’t have to wait for a replacement card to be mailed if theirs is misplaced or forgotten in order to sort out personal matters where a SSN is necessary, according to a press release.

Advocates Worry About Access to High-Speed Internet, Over-Reliance on Digital Help for Seniors

Some advocates are concerned that the changes are too much too fast, and they don’t consider those who are most vulnerable to the changes enough—among them older adults, people with disabilities, and anyone who doesn’t have stable internet access.

“I am all for modernization and digitization,” said Wendell Primus, visiting fellow at public policy organization Brookings. “But you have to be very careful not to disrupt this for some seniors or [others] who have trouble with computers, internet and the like.”

While Benton said changes are necessary to help the program serve millions of beneficiaries promptly and accurately, those in charge should not assume everyone can easily access digital support.

“Know your audience. It’s an 86-year-old living in rural America, or an 83-year-old who doesn’t have a close loved one nearby that can help them,” said Benton. “These are the people impacted by these changes.”

A large source of beneficiary frustration with the agency’s changes isn’t necessarily that they are modernizing: It’s the rate at which they are, according to advocates.

“For many people, the older they get, the harder it is to change how you do things,” Benton said. “You get stuck in your ways. [The SSA] should make changes incrementally and keep people thoroughly informed [of the changes]. The longer the lead time, the easier it is for people to adjust.”

With physical Social Security benefit checks ending as of Sept. 30, all beneficiaries will be required to receive their benefits through direct deposit or prepaid debit cards. For beneficiaries who cannot access the internet or use a computer, this change could lead to confusion regarding when or how to receive their benefits, a long with security risks. 

Benton said many Social Security beneficiaries might not be able to distinguish between a legitimate message from the SSA and a scammer. Requiring them to move more Social Security business online, she said, raises that risk.

While the SSA suggests that customers are generally satisfied with their call experience, automated prompts might prove to be confusing and frustrating for beneficiaries, according to Benton.

Beneficiaries can have complex questions that require talking to an agent versus reading a list of frequently asked questions, messaging a chatbot, or speaking on an automated line. Nearly 41% of the SSA’s calls are handled by automation, according to the agency.

Call support and satisfaction are crucial when the agency is redirecting thousands of Social Security employees from field offices to answer them. The agency reassigned up to 2,000 field workers to staff its 800 number this summer, and said additional reassignments could be possible. Many field office visitors have experienced higher wait times; offices in 46 states and Washington, D.C., have lost staff from March 2024 to March 2025.

This requires more beneficiaries to seek answers to their question digitally. However, many places in the U.S. experiencing large losses in field office staff are in rural areas, where fewer residents often lack stable access to the internet. About 20% of U.S. seniors live in rural areas.

Increased calls to the agency’s 800 number and long wait times on the phone have brought more business to the field offices. Field offices are understaffed, and the workers are spread thin and unable to keep up with the demand, said Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

“It’s a Catch-22,” Adcock said.