Weird 9-day delay between SSA claim processing and payment center receipt - what happened?

This happens ALL THE TIME with Social Security! When I filed for my disability last year, there was a 2-week gap between when my local office said they sent my file and when the DDS actually got it. The system is completely broken. I ended up having to contact my congressman's office to get any real answers. Good luck getting anyone at SSA to admit there's a problem - they'll just keep telling you "that's what the system shows."

same thing with my husbands check! they said it was sent on dec 3 but payment center didnt have it til dec 12. we just waited and it worked out fine, got payment about 3 weeks after the payment center date.

There's actually a technical explanation for this. When a claim is "sent" from a field office to a payment center, it goes through several automated processing steps at the central SSA systems before being routed to the appropriate payment center's work queue. These steps include verification checks, eligibility confirmations, and benefits calculations. During periods of high volume (like January/February when many people file), this process can take several days. The field office rep wasn't wrong - she did transmit it while you were on the phone, but what she transmitted was essentially an electronic package that had to go through several more automated steps before reaching the payment center's queue. The second rep was also correct about when it arrived in the payment center's actual workload. Generally, you should expect payment processing to take about 3-4 weeks from the date the payment center received your claim (so counting from February 19th), not from the field office transmission date. This is standard procedure, not a mistake or error in your case.

At this point, just let the process work. If you haven't received your first payment by mid-March (about 4 weeks from Feb 19), then it would be reasonable to call and check status. One tip: when you do call SSA, ask specifically if your claim has been "adjudicated" at the payment center. That's the technical term for when they've finished processing your claim and scheduled your payments.

Dont believe that explanation about "processing steps" - its just SSA covering for their inefficiency. They lose claims all the time in their system and won't admit it. My claim was "lost" for 3 weeks between offices and they kept giving me different excuses every time I called!!!

Having worked on these systems before retiring, I can tell you that what @profile2 said is accurate. The transmission process does indeed involve multiple validation steps, especially for retirement claims that might involve offset calculations, WEP/GPO considerations, or spousal coordination. One thing to note - calling repeatedly won't speed things up and might actually slow down your claim. Every time you call, a rep has to review your file and potentially place notes, which creates additional work in the system. I suggest calling only once every 2-3 weeks unless you have new information to provide. If you're struggling to reach someone at SSA (their phone lines are notoriously busy), I've heard good things about a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you bypass the long hold times and connects you directly to an SSA representative. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU showing how it works. Might save you some frustration if you do need to call again.

Is your claim for regular retirement or disability? Because disability claims take WAYYYY longer to process. My husband's disability claim took 5 months just to get through the first review stage, and we're still waiting for a final decision 8 months later!

I just wanted to say don't panic yet! My retirement claim had a similar delay between when the rep said it was sent and when it actually showed up at the payment center (about 5 days). I still got my first payment exactly when they estimated. The SSA has these weird internal processes that don't always make sense to us, but they usually work out in the end. The key things I learned through my process: 1. Always write down the names of reps you talk to 2. Keep a log of all calls with dates and what was said 3. Use the exact phrases the reps use when you call back (like that "adjudicated" term someone mentioned) 4. Check your MySocialSecurity account daily - sometimes updates appear there before reps even see them Hang in there! The waiting is the hardest part.

i tryed that claimyr thing someone mentioned. got thru to ssa in like 5 mins when i was on hold for over an hour before! worth it when u really need to talk to someone

My sister works for SSA (not saying which office) and she told me they're EXTREMELY understaffed right now. Like worse than she's ever seen in 15 years. The payment centers have backlogs of thousands of claims. So even after your claim gets to the payment center, it might still take several weeks to process depending on which center got it and how backlogged they are. Just sharing some inside perspective!

UPDATE: Just wanted to let everyone know that my first payment finally showed up in my bank account this morning! So it took exactly 4 weeks from the February 19th date when the payment center received my claim. Thanks to everyone who provided advice and reassurance. For anyone else going through this process - be patient and trust that the system does eventually work, even with those mysterious delays between offices!