Seniors Are the Biggest Losers in Social Security’s Plan to Go Digital

The Push to Go Digital

The Social Security Administration has a new goal: get half as many people through its doors.

Internal documents obtained by the Associated Press show the agency wants no more than 15 million field office visits in fiscal year 2026, down from the 31. 6 million recorded last year.

The plan is part of a broader push to move Americans online, where Commissioner Frank Bisignano says services are faster and available around the clock.

But for millions of seniors who have never used the internet, and rural Americans who already drive hours to reach an office, the math does not add up.

7,000 Workers Already Gone

The Trump administration pushed through the largest staffing cuts in Social Security history this year, eliminating about 7,000 positions. The agency now has roughly 51,000 employees, the lowest level in 50 years.

Union leaders say they are serving more Americans than ever with fewer people to do the work.

About 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the United States, and each one becomes eligible for Medicare, which SSA also handles.

The cuts came through buyouts, early retirement offers, and layoffs that targeted workers in regional offices and headquarters.

Bisignano Takes the Digital Helm

Frank Bisignano took over as commissioner in May 2025 after the Senate confirmed him in a party-line vote.

The former CEO of payment processing company Fiserv promised to transform Social Security into a “digital-first agency” using technology to speed up service.

In October, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also named him CEO of the IRS, making him responsible for day-to-day operations at both agencies.

Critics say running both massive programs at once shortchanges the 75 million Americans who depend on Social Security checks every month.

31 Million People Needed Help Last Year

Field offices handled over 31. 6 million visits between October 2024 and September 2025.

People came for retirement benefits, disability claims, replacement Social Security cards, Medicare enrollment, and help untangling payment problems.

Many showed up because they could not complete tasks online or got stuck in phone queues.

Field office workers say the typical location sees 30 to 60 visitors daily, and the numbers keep rising as baby boomers retire.

Cutting that traffic in half would require millions of Americans to change how they interact with the agency.

Some Rural Offices Already Closed

Staffing shortages have forced temporary closures at field offices across the country. The office in Havre, Montana, has been shut for months, with the nearest alternative almost two hours away in Butte.

Offices in Nevada, Missouri, and Alexandria, Minnesota, have lost half or more of their staff. The SSA website lists dozens of locations that can only assist by phone until further notice.

About 40 field offices have lost at least 25 percent of their workers, according to union data, and when one closes, the workload shifts to neighboring offices that are already stretched thin.

Online Verification Locks People Out

To access benefits online, Americans must verify their identity through systems like Login. gov or ID. me. The process requires uploading a photo ID, taking a selfie, and matching the image to government records. Many seniors cannot get past these steps.

One claims specialist in New York said people come into his office every day because they failed the online verification. Having a cellphone does not mean someone can navigate the process, he said.

Those who cannot verify online must now visit a field office in person, which defeats the purpose of the digital push.

27 Percent of Seniors Are Offline

About a quarter of Americans 65 and older do not use the internet at all, according to research data. The numbers are worse among the oldest seniors: fewer than half of those 80 and up go online.

Income matters too. Only 27 percent of older adults in households earning under $30,000 a year own smartphones, compared to 81 percent of those earning $75,000 or more.

Digital literacy programs exist, but they cannot reach everyone, especially those who are homebound, disabled, or living in areas with poor broadband service.

Rural Americans Face the Longest Drives

In 35 states, more than 10 percent of seniors must travel over 45 miles to reach their closest SSA office. About 71 percent of U.S. counties have no field office at all, and many lack the video service stations the agency created to help remote areas.

People on tribal lands face even longer trips, averaging 16 minutes more driving time than those living elsewhere.

A 73-year-old woman in West Virginia said the walk from her house to the nearest Social Security office is six miles, and she cannot drive. Public transit barely exists in her county.

Phone Wait Times Hit 2.5 Hours

Average hold times on the SSA national phone line spiked to about two and a half hours in March 2025.

The agency diverted workers from field offices to answer phones, and by September the average wait had dropped to around 15 minutes.

But callback times still run an hour or longer, and some callers report getting disconnected after waiting.

Senator Elizabeth Warren accused the agency of misleading the public about wait times, saying her staff found average waits of 102 minutes when the agency claimed 13.

The phone system remains a backup for millions who cannot use the website.

AI Chatbots Handle Millions of Calls

The SSA now routes about a third of its national 800-number calls through automated self-service systems. In September 2025, roughly 1.6 million of the 5. 1 million calls were handled entirely by the chatbot.

The agency says automation frees staff to focus on complex problems.

But advocates question how far AI can go in resolving the complicated payment disputes and benefit calculations that bring people to Social Security in the first place.

The agency says it will keep humans at the center of its processes, but the balance is shifting fast.

Critics Say the Whole Thing Is Breaking

Former commissioner Martin O’Malley warned earlier this year that benefit payments could be interrupted for the first time in the program’s history.

Union leaders say untrained workers are being thrown into customer-facing roles with just hours of instruction when the job requires months.

Internal data shows record backlogs: up to 6 million pending cases at processing centers and 12 million transactions waiting at field offices. One veteran employee called it a house of cards.

For the 75 million Americans who count on those monthly checks, the stakes could not be higher.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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