How to Increase Usage of Social Security’s Online Tools

Retiring baby boomers are increasing the demand for Social Security Administration (SSA) services at a time when budget constraints and retiring staff are limiting the agency’s capacity to deliver these services. In theory, investing in web-based tools for benefit applications could help SSA meet the projected increases in demand, even with fewer staff. But, despite SSA’s investment in tools with significant labor-saving potential, such as online benefit application, the share of retirees applying for benefits online has hovered around 50 percent since 2013. To investigate recent and future trends in online claiming, the CRR surveyed 2,600 people ages 57-70 about how they claimed, or intend to claim, their retirement benefits and their communications with SSA during the process. This brief, based on a recent paper, presents the results of that survey.1 The discussion proceeds as follows. The first section sheds some light on the recent trends in online claiming and estimates that only 70 percent of the roughly 50 percent currently submitting online applications – just over 35 percent of retirees – claim completely online (that is, without contacting SSA in-person or by phone). The second section investigates why most retirees contact SSA when claiming benefits. The third section considers options for SSA to increase the share of retirees who claim completely online. The final section concludes that new policies – and greater familiarity with online tools among younger cohorts – could significantly increase the share of retirees that claim online, but a meaningful share will continue to contact SSA in-person or by phone.