Annual Statistical Supplement, 2023

Program Provisions and SSA Administrative Data

SSA Resources and Operations

Service Delivery

Table 2.F7 Accuracy of selected agency determinations, and 800 telephone number call volume and wait times, fiscal years 2015–2022
Item 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
  Accuracy rates a (percent)
OASI payments  
Payment review/stewardship results  
Excess payments 99.6 99.8 99.7 99.9 99.8 99.9 99.9 99.5
Underpayments 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9 99.9
SSI payments  
Payment review/stewardship results  
Excess payments 93.9 92.4 92.7 91.8 91.9 92.7 92.8 92.0
Underpayments 98.6 98.8 98.9 98.5 98.7 98.9 98.4 98.8
DI benefits b  
Initial claims 95.5 95.8 94.8 94.7 97.3 96.4 96.7 97.1
Allowances 97.3 97.1 97.0 96.8 98.5 98.5 98.4 98.6
Denials 94.5 95.1 93.7 93.6 96.6 95.1 95.7 96.2
Reconsideration of denials 94.5 94.1 93.6 92.8 96.0 95.6 95.2 95.8
Reversals 97.3 96.0 96.2 95.6 96.8 96.5 96.5 97.3
Affirmations 94.1 93.9 93.3 92.4 95.9 95.4 95.0 95.6
  National 800 number network (1-800-772-1213)
Network calls received (millions) 72.2 77.4 75.6 82.5 86.6 79.0 71.2 81.5
Average wait for live agent service (minutes) 10.3 13.6 13.4 23.7 20.4 16.1 13.5 32.7
SOURCES: Social Security Administration, Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight, Office of Quality Review (OQR); and Office of Operations, Office of Customer Service.
NOTES: OQR conducts stewardship reviews on sample cases in current-payment status.
OASI = Old-Age and Survivors Insurance; SSI = Supplemental Security Income; DI = Disability Insurance.
a. For OASI and SSI payments, accuracy rates reflect the dollar value of properly determined payments as a percentage of total outlays. For DI benefits, accuracy rates reflect the percentage of determinations that did not require corrections.
b. Represents cases free of decisional and documentation errors.
CONTACT: Carolina Cruz at carolina.g.cruz@ssa.gov, Elizabeth Tate at elizabeth.tate@ssa.gov, or statistics@ssa.gov.