Social Security has announced a series of “significant” improvements for Americans as a digital-first transformation is ongoing at the agency.
Newsweek has listed out the key improvements you need to know about.
Why It Matters
Few programs impact as many people directly as Social Security does. More than 70 million Americans rely on Social Security payments each month, which is almost a fifth of the U.S. population.
Nearly every working American pays Social Security taxes, and some 55 million people receive retirement benefits through the program.
These are the changes being made at the Social Security Administration:
Improvements to the service could make life easier for the Americans who use the service. The tech transformation comes as the Trump administration made cuts to the Social Security Administration, the agency that manages and oversees the program.
What To KnowAmericans will now be able to access their personal Social Security account 24/7. The service had previously been down 29 hours a weekAnswers to calls were up by sixty-five percent in the 2025 financial year, compared to the 2024 financial yearThe average time taken to answer for the National 800 Number is down in the single digits90 percent of calls can now be resolved through self-service, or callbacksAverage wait times for visitors at field offices decreased by almost 30 percent from the 2024 financial year to the 2025 financial yearThose who have an appointment wait an average of six minutes to be assistedThere has been a significant decrease in the pending inventory of disability claims, down by a third from an all-time high of 1.26 million pending claims in June of 2024More than 3.1 million payments, which total an amount of $17 billion, were sent out to beneficiaries under the Social Security Fairness Act. These payments were five months ahead of schedule
These changes were shared in a press release after the Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank K. Bisignano met with the Social Security Advisory Board.
The Commissioner outlined the administration’s “investment in technology” in the release, where he said, “Under President Trump, we are serving more Americans faster than ever before. I look forward to the leadership of the new SSAB Chair and a strong working relationship with the Board.”
What People Are Saying
Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a press release: “Under President Trump, we are serving more Americans faster than ever before. I look forward to the leadership of the new SSAB Chair and a strong working relationship with the Board.”
SSAB Chair Amy Shuart said in a press release: “I look forward to continued updates as the agency builds on this momentum and strives to better serve the public.”
What Happens Next?
Whether changes will continue at the agency remains to be seen, as the move toward more and more digitisation.