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Retirement Planning > Social Security

How Happy Are Americans With Social Security’s Claiming Process?

By John Manganaro

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What You Need to Know

  • Recent retirees were asked to rate their satisfaction with the process on a scale of 1 to 10. The average score was 8.4.
  • Those who contacted SSA reported slightly lower satisfaction than those who claimed completely online.
  • Satisfaction scores varied by race.

Survey data recently analyzed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College shows that retirees in the U.S. report a high degree of satisfaction with the Social Security claiming process — despite the widely reported challenges and complexities associated with benefit optimization.

According to the CRR’s latest report, recent retirees were asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the claiming process on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest level of satisfaction. The average satisfaction score was 8.4, with about 80% of respondents reporting a score of 8 or more.

The brief was put together by the CRR’s Jean-Pierre Aubry, an associate director of state and local research. As Aubry emphasizes, this finding reflects claiming of retirement benefits only, meaning it does not capture disability benefit applications — a process that faces well-known challenges such as case backlogs.

Aubry notes the high satisfaction scores for retirement services in the CRR’s survey also align with results from SSA’s Overall Customer Service Satisfaction Survey, which has consistently shown roughly 80% of survey respondents rating SSA services as “excellent,” “very good” or “good.”

Those who contacted SSA during their claiming process reported slightly lower satisfaction than those who claimed completely online, at 8.3 vs. 8.7. Aubry suggests this “interesting” finding likely stems from the experiences of “those who would prefer to use online tools, but ultimately do not.”

As the brief explores, both online and in-person applicants report high satisfaction with the process of claiming benefits, but there is a growing emphasis on tech-based self-service. According to Aubry, this result suggests that continued improvement in, and promotion of, online services could further boost overall satisfaction.

SSA’s Shift to Online Service Hasn’t Dampened Satisfaction

As Aubry explains, retiring baby boomers are increasing the demand for Social Security Administration services at a time when budget constraints and retiring staff are limiting the agency’s capacity to deliver them.

In this environment, online services offer a way for the SSA to meet increased demand with fewer resources. However, even as the SSA has shifted more personalized information and services online to its my Social Security platform, the survey data shows that many people still do not use this tool to view their Social Security statement or apply for benefits.

As such, Aubry’s brief explores recent retirees’ satisfaction with the claiming process amidst the shift to online tools and the continued desire by some for in-person or phone services — a desire that does not break down cleanly along age or demographic lines.

For example, the CRR’s initial analysis of the survey responses found that almost 60% of recent retirees contacted the SSA at some point during the claiming process and that those who contacted SSA were more likely to be nonwhite. As Aubry points out, the figures collected for Black and Hispanic Americans indicated a statistically significant difference from white Americans.

“Given the racial differences in claiming completely online, this brief uses the survey to examine the general claiming satisfaction of recent retirees, as well as differences in satisfaction by both claiming process (i.e., completely online or not) and race,” Aubry explains.

A Closer Look at the Satisfaction Ratings

As Aubry writes, a closer look at satisfaction by claiming process and race reveals some interesting differences.

“First, both white Americans and Hispanic Americans who claimed completely online report higher satisfaction scores than those who contacted SSA when claiming,” Aubry writes. “In contrast, Black Americans who claimed completely online report lower satisfaction scores than their counterparts who contacted the SSA.”

Second, though generally not statistically significant, Hispanic Americans report higher satisfaction scores than either Black or white respondents, whether they claimed completely online or not.

As Aubry points out, these differences raise another question: Does satisfaction vary by reason for contacting the SSA?

“As noted … a substantial number of retirees contact SSA at some point during their claiming process, often to get more information before applying for benefits,” Aubry says. “It is possible that the reason they contact the SSA before claiming could be associated with their degree of satisfaction with the experience.”

One chart in the analysis compares some common reasons given by individuals with a satisfaction score of 8 or above to those with a score below 8. According to Aubry, those who report higher satisfaction scores were more likely to have contacted the SSA to ask whether they were eligible for retirement benefits or what amount they would receive.

On the other hand, those who report lower scores were more likely to have contacted SSA to ask about the steps in the application process or to explore their options — for example, how claiming at different ages would affect their benefits.

“Shifting from pre-application to the actual application, the results show that — for those who claimed their benefits in person or by phone — the respondents reporting higher satisfaction scores are more likely to prefer applying in person,” Aubry writes. “In contrast, those with lower satisfaction scores were more likely to have contacted SSA due to problems with the SSA website or because they were unaware of the online option.”

This finding suggests that lower satisfaction often stems from those who might prefer to use online tools, but ultimately do not, Aubry concludes. Conversely, it also suggests that continued efforts to communicate the availability of online tools and improve the online claiming portal could decrease the number of retirees who are less satisfied with their claiming experience.

Suggestions for Improvement

The CRR also asked retirees to suggest how to improve the claiming experience.

“When dissecting the suggestions provided by recent retirees, most included an idea that could be easily categorized,” Aubry suggests. “Unsurprisingly, the suggestions varied somewhat by whether a retiree claimed completely online or not. For example, one of the most common suggestions — given mostly by those who contacted SSA — was to shorten wait times.”

This was followed by providing more guidance to retirees on the process, which was the suggestion given most often by those who claimed completely online.

Only a small percentage directly cited improving SSA’s online information and services.

Ultimately, Aubry concludes, providing online services offers an important way for the SSA to meet increased demand with fewer resources. However, even as SSA has shifted more personalized information and services online, the in-person process remains crucial.

Credit: Adobe Stock 

John Manganaro

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