Social Security Delays? Why Payments Could Be Slowed This Summer

After dealing with downsizing and frequent changes to policies, employees at the Social Security Administration are reportedly overwhelmed. A huge factor contributing to this stress is the expectation to quickly wrap up all the cases related to the new Social Security Fairness Act. What has many concerned: The extra work on the backend means some beneficiaries are not receiving the help they need and others could see their expected payments arriving late. Keep reading to learn more about what could cause delays in Social Security payments, plus what to do if you need help with your benefits.

A look at what’s happening at the Social Security Administration

The constant changes taking place within the Social Security Administration are starting to take a toll on the employees who are struggling to keep up with the workload. Officials have asked workers to focus on processing around 900,000 complicated Social Security cases by hand, reports USA Today.

Though the White House has assured that these special cases won’t impact other beneficiaries, those in the administration expect that the extra work will cause other important tasks not to get done in a timely manner. This could eventually include payments if things don’t improve. 

Complicating their duties is the fact that records for some beneficiaries need to be updated annually and both retroactive and future benefits then have to be adjusted. The required steps are starting to slow down things overall and may create a snowball effect.

Why is the Social Security Administration behind on cases? 

The push to focus on these complicated cases is partly due to the Social Security Fairness Act that was signed into law by former President Joe Biden earlier this year. As part of the act—which was created to benefit those in the public sector—millions of beneficiaries should be receiving a lump sum payment to make up for the money they would have received last year. Some public employees and their families are also getting an increase in monthly benefits.

Though the initial deadline for these retroactive payments was supposed to be November, there’s been a bigger push to get them done much sooner. Many employees told USA Today that the new commissioner wants all the Social Security Fairness Act claims to be resolved by July 1.  

Until this priority is completed, other tasks at the agency could start to slip through the cracks—even with many employees being offered overtime.

What does this mean for Social Security beneficiaries?

Anonymous Social Security employees shared with USA Today that they’ve been told to only help with a select number of issues right now if someone calls. Reportedly, only calls related to new claims, appeals and Social Security Fairness Act cases are being dealt with.

If someone asks for help with things like updating direct deposit information or Medicare billing related issues, a worker has to say they currently cannot help as it’s considered a non-priority issue.

Unfortunately, even beneficiaries who aren’t reaching out to the agency might eventually be impacted by the heavy workload. Some employees have warned that until the complicated cases linked to the Social Security Fairness Act are resolved, thousands of people could see delayed checks. 

For now, payments for June have been sent out as scheduled. 

How to get help with Social Security issues

If you have concerns related to your Social Security benefits and worry you might not be able to get in touch with someone, there are alternative options available.

You can call the national, toll-free 1-800-772-1213 number, which offers automated telephone services 24 hours a day.

Here are some of the issues that can be resolved through this service:

• Ask for a benefit verification letter

• Request form SSA-1099 (Social Security Benefit Statement)

• Ask for a replacement Medicare Card

• Request a claim status

• Get the address of your local Social Security office

• Request an “Application for a Social Security Card.”

You can also log in to your “my Social Security” account online to handle the same concerns. (Eventually there are also plans to offer secure digital access to your Social Security card via your account.)

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