Press one to wait on hold for a very long time

“Press one to hear our office hours and location.  Press two for…”. You know the drill.  You call your local Social Security office or the Office of Hearing Operations first thing in the morning to follow up on an application, an appeal, or some paperwork that you filed, spend an hour and 15 minutes hearing, “Your call is very important to us.  We are busy assisting other customers.  We will answer your call as soon as we are able,” only to finally give up.  It is a very frustrating experience.  Sometimes, that is the only approach that you can take, but as a professional who deals with a number of Social Security offices for a range of clients, here are some strategies.  Most of them involve making the most of the online capabilities that the Social Security Administration does have.  They are better than they used to be, even a few years ago.

First and foremost, if you are the person with a disability, create a “My Social Security” account for yourself.  If you are a parent, guardian, sibling, or representative payee, assist the person with a disability whom you are supporting to create a “My Social Security” account.  While the Social Security Administration’s online system could still use an upgrade, it is getting better little by little and using it is, by far, the most efficient way to receive and review, notice and submit, and follow up on paperwork forms.  Here are a few tips:

• Have relevant personal information on hand.  It goes without saying that you need your Social Security number or the person whom you are assisting needs their Social Security number.  You will also need an email address that will be checked frequently and a phone number that will be answered.  The SSA communicates mostly in writing.  If you have an email address attached to your My Social Security account, they may email you about forms that they need you to submit.  Sometimes, the Administration will call, particularly when you have a case in progress.  If you are assisting a young adult with a disability in either applying for or managing their benefits, make sure they understand that s/he need to answer her/his phone because this is a obsolete practice for many youth and young adults. the phone.  Social Security does not communicate by text.

• Be prepared to create a linked “ID.me” or “Login.gov” account.  The Social Security administration as well as other government entities now require this in order to implement two-factor authentication.  You will need to select a method for that second factor that is reliable.

Second, either submit or support your family member to submit the disability benefits application online.  While it is still possible to submit a paper application by mail or fax, doing so online provides access to updates through a My Social Security account.  The SSA will also request further forms and paperwork through the messages section of your My Social Security Account.  When submitting the application, keep in mind that the application is designed to accommodate anyone who is applying for any kind of disability benefits, whether Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or Social Security Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB, also known as Disabled Adult Child or DAC) for any type of disabling conditions, including physical, intellectual/developmental, or behavioral health.  As a result, although you need to complete all questions of all sections of the application, some questions and even some whole sections will not be applicable to your or your family member’s situation.

Third, anticipate additional forms that the SSA may need to process your application.  The first thing that the SSA evaluates is how much the applicant is earning through work—either as an employee or as a self-employed person.  If the applicant is earning income that exceeds the Substantial Gainful Activity threshold, which is $1,620 in gross monthly earnings for 2025, their application will be denied immediately before the SSA even considers their diagnosis or the severity of their limitations.  This will happen UNLESS the applicant can document that they receive special considerations and extra support at work.  These can be documented through standard SSA forms and uploaded directly to an applicant’s My Social Security Account. Applicants whose disabling conditions may be episodic or fall along a spectrum may need to complete paperwork providing the details of their functional capabilities in various activities of daily living.

Fourth, make sure that the applicant’s email address is correct and that it is checked frequently.  Recently, an applicant that I assisted received by email a request for further documentation less than a week after the original application was submitted.  This is  way faster than what happens when the SSA mails out additional forms to the applicant.  Conversely, another applicant whom I am assisting did not receive either the mailed additional forms nor an email notification, because there was no email on file.  This slowed down the process considerably.  Also check the “messages” tab of the applicant’s My Social Security account on a regular basis.  One can create folders in “messages”, which can help to keep things organized when an application or appeal process is taking a long time and requiring multiple steps.

Fifth, do NOT miss any deadlines.  While it is possible to plead extenuating circumstances, the circumstances really must be out of the applicant’s or beneficiary’s control, such as unexpected hospitalization.  Here, again, is where I favor submitting as much as possible via the applicant/beneficiary’s My Social Security account.  Although documents mailed through USPS’ Express or Priority services or sent by FedEx or similar carriers will arrive in a timely fashion, they will still need to be input into the SSA system, which requires a human intermediary who retrieves them and processes them in a timely fashion.  With the best of intentions, this may be challenging, given the volume of documents that the Administration processes.  With electronic uploads, the document arrives and begins to move through the system almost immediately.  Making the most of the SSA’s online capabilities is the best way to avoid relentless hours of “hold” muzak.