The Social Security Administration is proudly commemorating its 90th anniversary, marking its unwavering commitment to the financial security and dignity of millions of Americans. Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law on August 14, 1935, the program has grown into one of the most successful and trusted institutions in American history. At a ceremony in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation reaffirming his commitment to protect Social Security and celebrating the customer service improvements that have occurred at the agency.
“For 90 years, Social Security has stood as a promise kept, ensuring that older Americans, people with disabilities, and families facing loss have the support they need,” said Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano. “As we honor this legacy, we are also building a future where service is faster, smarter, and more accessible than ever before.”
This year, 72 million beneficiaries will receive more than $1.6 trillion in payments, making Social Security a lifeline for retired workers, survivors, and people with disabilities and a cornerstone of retirement security across generations.
Since his swearing in on May 7, Bisignano has led a bold, digital-first transformation of SSA’s operations, guided by a vision to make the agency a premier service organization. In the first 100 days, he has led SSA to achieve significant improvements:

  • Giving Americans 24/7 access to their personal My Social Security account, allowing more than half a million transactions to take place in the first three weeks
  • Reducing average wait time on the national 800 number from 30 minutes to single digits
  • Shortening field office wait times by 30% and booking more appointments than ever before
  • Upgrading phone systems in all field offices, allowing for 30% of all calls to be handled instantaneously through technology
  • Enabling 90% of calls to be resolved via self-service or convenient callbacks
  • Reducing the initial disability claims backlog by 26%, from 1.2 million to 940,000 cases
  • Decreasing disability hearing wait times by 60 days, reaching historic lows
  • Sending more than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion to eligible beneficiaries five months ahead of schedule under the Social Security Fairness Act
    Bisignano’s modernization agenda emphasizes operational agility, data-driven performance, and a digital-first approach. His leadership has prioritized:
  • Integration of technology to streamline phone inquiries and reduce errors
  • Strengthening of data security following past breaches, with firm commitments to safeguard beneficiary information and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse
  • Workforce optimization to increase frontline capacity while maintaining service excellence
    “Our strategy is clear: serve customer needs quickly and completely, no matter how they contact us,” Bisignano said. “We are empowering our workforce and embracing innovation to ensure Social Security properly supports the American people and remains strong for the next 90 years.”