The Social Security Administration’s rollout of new systems for scheduling appointments and managing its caseload nationwide is on hold for now.
For months, SSA has been planning to launch two major systems, the National Appointment Scheduling Calendar (NASC) and the National Workload Management (NWLM) system, to distribute appointment scheduling and claims processing across its workforce nationwide.
But in a March 31 email obtained by Federal News Network, SSA told employees that the April 13 rollout of these systems “has been paused until further notice.”
This is at least the second time these systems have been postponed. SSA previously told employees that the NASC and NWLM would go live on March 7.
An SSA spokesperson said in a statement, in response to an inquiry sent on Wednesday, that the agency will still roll out these systems later this year, and that “customers will not notice any changes aside from expanded appointment availability.”
“This is one of the digital-first changes we are implementing that will empower field office staff to focus on what they do best, resolving customers’ needs in-person with care, accuracy, and efficiency, while directing more complex cases and time-intensive tasks to specialized teams in a centralized environment,” the spokesperson said.
SSA employees will eventually use the NASC to schedule all initial claims appointments, and will also allow the public to self-schedule initial claims appointments.
The National Workload Management system will serve as the agency’s central workload management system. According to a memo from last December, the system will distribute work to employees nationwide based on their “skillset, knowledge, and availability.” SSA employees say they’re used to processing claims submitted locally, but will soon tackle a nationwide inventory of cases.
An SSA employee previously told Federal News Network that “someone who applies in California could be speaking to an SSA rep in Maine.”
A second SSA employee said these systems are meant to help “smooth over” staffing shortages. The agency lost about 7,000 employees through voluntary incentives last year. It also relocated many of its employees from its headquarters and regional offices to field offices.
Employees said they’re wary that these systems could introduce more complexity to their workloads — as well as more room for error. State laws introduce another layer of complexity to these cases. Some states, for example, have a higher income limit for SSA programs like Supplemental Security Income.
SSA employees outside Alaska, for example, aren’t familiar with how to treat annual payments adult residents receive from the state government based on oil revenue. Those payments from the Permanent Fund Dividend count as income to SSA programs like Social Security Income, and could potentially reduce benefits.
Many states offer a supplement to SSI benefits to help cover living costs for low-income seniors, as well as blind or disabled individuals. Those supplement amounts and eligibility vary state-by-state.
Some states let SSA manage these supplements, resulting in one combined check, while other states process their SSI supplements as a separate payment. Other states don’t offer these SSI supplements.
“We don’t have answers on how we are supposed to handle this,” the second SSA employee said.
In a separate memo, the agency directed field offices to only schedule initial claims over the phone, and to restrict in-person visits. An SSA spokesperson said in January that this memo had been rescinded.
The now-rescinded memo, dated Dec. 31, directed field office employees to “convert all in-office appointments” scheduled on or after Jan. 6 to telephone appointments, and to “zero out all in-office availability” for appointments scheduled on or after March 9.
SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano told employees in a Jan. 12 all-hands meeting that “exactly zero field offices closed” last year, and that “we’re going to always have field offices.”
“If people want to come in and see us, we’ll be there. If people want to call us, we will answer the phone. And if people want to use the web, we will be available,” Bisignano told employees, according to a transcript obtained by Federal News Network
Andy Sriubas, an agency executive who’s kept employees notified about the rollout of these systems, is stepping down as SSA’s chief of field operations, and will now serve as its chief of strategy and marketing, according to a separate internal email.
An agency spokesperson said the position is a new leadership role created by Bisignano, and is “focused on the overall execution of our priorities and strengthening partnerships to further the mission of the agency.” SSA Chief Financial Officer Tom Holland will serve as the agency’s new chief of field operations.
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