Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano stood up for his agency in his congressional testimony on Wednesday, touting lower call wait times and greater efficiency as he said the SSA is having its “best all-around performance ever” under the Trump administration.The SSA chief’s testimony came just one day after the Social Security board of trustees released its annual trust fund assessment, essentially a fiscal report card for the agency. The assessment detailed that the agency will deplete its two major trust funds — the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds — by 2034 if Congress does not step in to help. At that point, SSA benefits would only be 83% payable, according to the report.“We now answer 90% of calls to our 800 number, and have reduced average wait time to five minutes, a 75% improvement,” Bisignano said. “Simultaneously, fiscal year to date, we are serving 56% more people, which represents 13 million additional customers served.”
Bisignano, who sits on the board of trustees, urged Congress to act to ensure the trust funds continue to flow and said he is working to make the SSA function as well as possible so Congress can decide how to approach the program’s financial insolvency.
