“We are pleased to announce some important developments from Central Processing that further our commitment to efficient, responsive service for claimants and the representative community,” said Mark D. Quinlan, chief of Central Processing with the Social Security Administration. He said the changes are part of ongoing work to improve operations and service.
The first change is to place all eight of the agency's processing centers under a single central processing organization, and the second change is to expand the representative call center into a single point of contact for representatives with cases pending anywhere in the country.
The processing centers perform much of the behind-the-scenes work that keeps Social Security running, including handling claims workloads, maintaining earnings records, processing benefit actions, and supporting field offices.
Under the reorganization, disability operations, international processing, earnings, workload support units, and field office support units will all report through the new Central Processing organization.
SSA said combining those operations is intended to simplify management and improve coordination across the agency.
"This realignment merges similar workload responsibilities, streamlines decision-making, and enhances customer service across the agency,” said Quinlan.
The SSA also expanded its representative call center, allowing attorneys and other authorized representatives to contact one phone number for help with cases pending at any processing center.
Representatives who call the center are automatically connected to the appropriate processing center based on claimant information. SSA said technicians can assist with pending cases, attorney fee payments, and other case-related inquiries.
For beneficiaries, the SSA encourages creating a my Social Security account to manage benefits and access agency services online.
The latest changes build on a broader effort by the Social Security Administration to modernize customer service and reduce processing delays.
SSA also said it has expanded its online services, completing 385 million online transactions so far in fiscal 2026, a 37 percent increase from 2024.
Nearly 40 percent of calls to the agency's National 800 Number are now handled through automated self-service options, helping reduce wait times for callers who need live assistance.