A Historic Year: Commissioner Bisignano Delivers a Stronger Social Security

A Historic Year: Commissioner Bisignano Delivers a Stronger Social Security
A year of digital transformation, record-setting customer service, and fraud prevention

Baltimore, MD - The Social Security Administration (SSA) today marks the one-year anniversary of Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano's swearing-in as the agency's 18^th Senate-confirmed leader. Over the past year, Commissioner Bisignano has delivered on President Trump's commitment to protect and strengthen Social Security - transforming SSA into a premier service organization for the American people.

"I made a commitment to President Trump and the American people to protect and strengthen Social Security and transform this agency into a premier service organization," said Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano. "Over the last year, we have delivered better, faster, higher-quality customer service for the more than 330 million Americans we serve. We are just getting started."

Social Security is a cornerstone in every American's retirement plan and provides support for survivors, families, people with disabilities, and our nation's most vulnerable. SSA sends out approximately 75 million payments each month, totaling $1.6 trillion throughout the year.

One Year of Results

Since his swearing-in May 7, 2025, Commissioner Bisignano has led SSA to achieve the best overall improvements in service delivery for the American people ever:

• Reducing the average speed of answer on the National 800 Number to the lowest level in a decade to 6.6 minutes - an 84 percent reduction from 42 minutes in fiscal year (FY) 2024
• Achieving a 20 percent increase in online transactions, successfully completing nearly 90 million more transactions in FY 2025 compared to FY 2024 by giving Americans 24/7 access to their benefits and personal information online, when previously the website was down 29 hours a week
• Shortening field office wait times by 30 percent since FY 2024 while bringing new technology to the phone systems in over 1,200 field offices, enabling nearly 30 percent of calls to be resolved via self-service or convenient callback
• Reducing the initial disability claims backlog by 33 percent, from a high of 1.27 million in 2024 to 853,000 cases in April 2026
• Decreasing disability hearing wait times by 40 percent, reaching historic lows
• Sending over 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion to eligible beneficiaries five months ahead of schedule under the Social Security Fairness Act
• Protecting SSA systems and infrastructure with a renewed focus on data integrity and enhanced controls to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse

Central to Commissioner Bisignano's digital-first vision for the agency is my Social Security - SSA's online portal that gives Americans direct access to their earnings records, benefit estimates, and, for current beneficiaries, the ability to manage payments, update personal information, and access important documents. Earlier this year, SSA surpassed 100 million my Social Security accounts, a milestone that reflects the public's growing confidence in the agency's digital services.

Americans who do not yet have a personal my Social Security account can create one at ssa.gov/myaccount. Creating an account provides immediate access to a full suite of online services.

As part of Commissioner Bisignano's commitment to serving America's most vulnerable populations, he renewed the agency's focus on the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. For the first time in SSA's history, he established a dedicated leader to manage the program and lead a new SSI Improvement Team to make SSI processing more efficient, aid recipients in complying with program requirements, and help eliminate improper payments through effective processes, technology, and policy.

Commissioner Bisignano also established SSA's first Chief of Security and Resiliency to protect SSA's assets and the first Chief Risk Officer to address pending audits and facilitate expedited implementation of recommendations, demonstrating his commitment to accountability and operational excellence.

Looking ahead, Commissioner Bisignano will continue building on the foundation established in year one: delivering better service, expanding digital access, and fulfilling President Trump's mandate to protect and preserve Social Security.

For more Social Security news, follow the agency on X @SocialSecurity.