Social Security phone wait times in Florida - 800 number vs. local office calls?

omg the phone situation is a NIGHTMARE right now!!! i tried calling the 800 number last week and waited 2 HOURS before getting disconnected. tried again monday, waited another hour and a half. this is ridiculous, they expect people to just sit by their phones all day??? i'm in orlando and our local office just sends you to the national line anyway, complete waste of time. the whole system is broken!!

The current average wait time for the SSA 800 number (1-800-772-1213) is approximately 45-75 minutes, though it can be longer during peak periods (mornings and Mondays tend to be worst). Unfortunately, most local Florida offices do redirect callers to the national number unless you're calling for a very specific reason that only that office can handle. Your best strategy is to: 1. Call the 800 number early (they open at 8am Eastern) 2. Call mid-week (Tuesday-Thursday) 3. Have all your information ready before calling 4. Use the callback feature if offered rather than holding Note that some local offices are now offering limited in-person services by appointment only, but you generally need to call to schedule those appointments.

I called last month from Jacksonville. Waited about 50 min on the 800 number. Local office just transfers you back to the 800 number so don't waste your time with that. Good luck

My father-in-law had the same issue trying to sort out his retirement benefits last spring. We found this service called Claimyr that got him through to an agent in under 20 minutes. Basically it keeps dialing for you until it gets through, then calls you when it has an agent on the line. Saved him hours of frustration. We watched their demo video first at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and then signed up at claimyr.com. Honestly worth it just for the peace of mind.

Not really - just the phone number he wanted them to call back on. The service just does the waiting on hold part for you. Once they connect you, it's a normal call with Social Security and you handle all the personal info directly with the SSA agent.

I work as a benefits counselor (not for SSA) and can verify that phone wait times have been particularly bad in recent months. The national average is around 45-60 minutes, but in high-population states like Florida, it's often longer. Regarding local vs. national numbers: Most local offices have very limited phone staff and are instructed to redirect general inquiries to the national line. They'll only handle calls about specific local appointments or very specialized issues. Best times to call are Wednesdays and Thursdays between 1-3pm Eastern time. Also, if you're calling about a disability review specifically, there may be a separate number for your state's Disability Determination Services (DDS) office that could be more direct. You might want to check if you have correspondence with that alternative number.

Wait times do fluctuate seasonally. Early in the year (January-March) is typically worse because of COLA adjustments and tax season. Summer months (June-August) tend to be somewhat better. But unfortunately, staffing shortages have made even the "better" times still pretty challenging over the past year.

I had to call about my survivors benefits after my wife passed last month. The whole experience was HORRIBLE. Waited 93 minutes on the 800 number only to get someone who couldn't help and transferred me... then got disconnected! Called my local Tampa office and they just sent me back to the 800 number. The system is BROKEN and nobody cares about us seniors! I ended up having to get my daughter to drive me to the office and even with an appointment we waited 2 hours. Don't get your hopes up about any of it being efficient.

Update: I tried calling this morning around 9:30am and got the "all representatives are busy" message, then sat on hold for about 40 minutes before I had to hang up for another appointment. Will try again tomorrow using some of these suggestions - earlier in the day and middle of the week. Really appreciate all the input from everyone!

i used that claimyr thing someone mentioned above after seeing it recommended in another thread. it worked for me! got through in like 25 mins when i had been trying for days with no luck. just sharing in case it helps anyone else dealing with this nightmare phone system lol