Social Security Summarized Goals 1-5: Fundamental improvements in platform cybersecurity; website UI and UX; easier access to accurate and comprehensive information by phone or through digital portals; increased emphasis on beneficiary-centric information; communication and services; and improved customer service on all channels.

INPUTS

ACTIVITIES

What SS Invests

What SS Does

Who SS Reaches

Short-term Results

Intermediate Results

Long-term Results

Accurate data and relevant information

Timely delivery of information (currently constrained by the evolution of technology platforms and website build-out)

Safeguards against fraud

Provides timely, accurate information to the beneficiaries and others

Protects the database from cybercrime and digital data breaches

Provide benefits according to the legal parameters and calculations to those who qualify

To establish access to data and information via several secure channels (mail, physical offices, phone, and online)

Beneficiaries who are of full retirement age (FRA)

Beneficiaries who are retiring early

Veterans who are beneficiaries

Widows and widowers who are beneficiaries

Learning

To meet the needs of beneficiaries regardless of technological skill or channel preferences

Polite customer service and dignified beneficiary transactions

Courteous call center staff who are trained to be thoughtful and thorough when responding to people inquiring about services

Responsible and sensitive interactions with disabled and injured Veterans

Action

Ensure access to information is possible only to those who have a legal right to the data

To provide the correct amount of benefits according to a schedule and conditions that are clearly communicated

Conditions

To establish technological systems that provide accurate information to beneficiaries within minutes or hours, rather than weeks or months

To create a smooth transition to the digital channels for beneficiaries

The Situation:

Cybersecurity and identity theft are critical issues in contemporary...

All methods used by Social Security to communicate with and contact beneficiaries and others must exhibit the highest levels of security, while still optimizing the user experience as much as possible. Self-service options on the Social Security website are improving, but they are not comprehensive. In particular, the FAQ features are not sufficiently extensive. The call center is using a call-back feature that avoids keeping callers on the phone while waiting for their place in the queue; this is one of the stronger features since wait time can be lengthy, even with the extended hours of the call centers. The tone and manner of many call center representatives is quite poor, and the representatives are often not good communicators. Even if they do have correct information, they do not respond well to contextual triggers that should enable them to provide information that results in better understanding of Social Security matters to callers. There is a continual need to ensure that the technology platforms support integration of the several relevant regulations and rules, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the original and amended precepts of Medicare and Social Security, and so forth.
Assumptions:

Reaching younger people through the technology (SS website and social media) will be facilitated by their experience.

Each generation will likely be more technologically savvy than previous generations.

Socio-economic variables are likely to influence technological skills more than the age of website users.

The Social Security offices are not user friendly. People will increasing prefer online functionality to the physical SS offices.

The FAQ sections of the website will need to be more explicit and comprehensive than they now are.

External Factors;

The Social Security website must be optimized to function well with all common browsers (Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox; Internet Explorer will not be actively updated and supported in the future).

All secure Social Security websites will need 128 to 256 bit encryption. Broad-based federal cybersecurity initiatives will include the Social Security websites.

Call centers will continue to be needed for the few people who do…