“Through the uncertainty, SSA staff continued to deliver quality service to the American public in offices and on the phone,” Bisignano stated in the letter. “In the end, payments continued to be made, and beneficiaries received the assistance they needed to access and manage their benefits.”
Over the past six months, Bisignano said he reviewed the agency’s operating model, technology capabilities and systems infrastructure, workforce, and overall mission and goals.
His leadership team has made strategic and data-driven changes to improve the efficiency and accuracy of operations and customer service, he said.
Social Security distributes about $1.6 trillion in payments each year to millions of Americans who rely on it, according to Bisignano.
More than 330 million Americans have Social Security numbers, Bisignano wrote, and the agency issues more than 15 million original and replacement cards each year.
“Today, we’re making it easier for individuals to request replacement cards through SSA’s online account ... rather than having to visit a field office to do so,” Bisignano said in the letter.
Through online accounts, Americans can also track their earnings information and find out how to claim retirement at different ages.
Bisignano said that he has led the team to deliver better customer experiences. The team has worked on protecting citizens’ vital information with secure systems, he said.
SSA’s workers continuously monitor databases for any signs of unauthorized access or data compromises.
As part of the efforts, access to sensitive data is tightly controlled based on job requirements, completion of required trainings, and leadership approval, according to Bisignano.
Bisignano pledged earlier this year to reduce the wait times on SSA’s national 800 number.
He said he was pleased to report a wait-time average of seven minutes in September—four minutes shorter than in September 2024.
The agency has also served 65 percent more callers in 2025 than in 2024, and 90 percent of the calls are now resolved through self-service or convenient callback methods, Bisignano said.
In the letter, the administrator reported delivering more than $17 billion in payments ahead of schedule to eligible beneficiaries, lowering a backlog by more than 25 percent, and improving claims processing times.
Technology upgrades have expanded to the SSA’s field offices, and the agency has developed the capacity to serve more people than ever while reducing wait times, according to the letter. In-office wait times are down to 22 minutes, on average, compared with 30 minutes at the end of last year.
“SSA’s mission remains vital as ever,” Bisignano said. “With continued support from Congress we will build upon recent progress, modernize the way we serve the public, and ensure that our programs and services remain a source of stability for generations to come.”
In the proclamation, the president wrote, “I recommit to always defending Social Security, rewarding the men and women who make our country prosperous, and taking care of our own workers, families, seniors, and citizens first.”
