Retirees Seeking Social Security Benefits Encouter Dysfunctional System
Posted on:6/23/2009
Written By: Chris Robideaux
| Many retiring baby boomers will have questions about their Social Security benefits in the coming years, but few will likely get answers —- at least not quickly. Each day this year, about 10,000 baby boomers will turn 62. |
Many retiring baby boomers will have questions about their Social Security benefits in the coming years, but few will likely get answers —- at least not quickly. Each day this year, about 10,000 baby boomers will turn 62, and conversely the Social Security Administration has reduced its staffing by more than 5 percent since 2003, to about 60,000. That means seniors such as Early Graham of Raleigh, N.C., have dealt with long hold times and promises of return calls that never come.
"I had to call three different numbers before I got anyone on the phone," Graham said.
Brian Simpson, a spokesman at the Social Security office in Raleigh, said he hears similar complaints all the time.
Trying to handle customer demand with fewer employees, the agency has shifted some workers away from phone lines to front desks to assist walk-in clients.
Graham, 64, said he has tried for more than a year to resolve a complicated issue regarding his Social Security payments. On the rare occasions when he has gotten someone on the phone, he has had to explain his situation from the beginning.
Graham finally started keeping track of the people he spoke with, which has helped somewhat. Still, many of his questions remain unanswered.
Source: McClatchy Newspapers