A New President and a New Day for the Social Security Administration

         Today Donald John Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. We are now waiting to see who will helm the Social Security Administration ("SSA"). President Trump has indicated his top pick is Frank Bisignano, the Chairman of payment processing company Fiserv. Mr. Bisignano has an extensive background in the financial and technological industries. Mr. Bisignano has held leadership positions at Shearson Lehman Brothers, JPMorgan Chase and First Data Corporation. 

        Many naysayers are claiming Mr. Bisignano has no knowledge of the the intricacies of the SSA. That may technically be true, but that may be exactly what SSA needs. SSA needs to be modernized and run with the efficiency of a successful modern day business. The SSA system is broken, so bringing in outsider known for holding his employees accountable could be the fresh start that SSA needs. SSA has blamed their poor customer service on their backlogs and staffing issues, excuses that would only be tolerated in the public sector and are never tolerated in private sector. In the private sector, deadlines have to be met regardless of infrastructure challenges. Subpar employees get fired and dedicated employees get promoted. SSA should embrace those same philosophies.

        Mr. Bisignano also has the reputation of being a fixer on Wall Street and a fixer is exactly what SSA needs.  His financial and technological acumen would be direct skills that could help overhaul the SSA system. SSA has started to recently embrace technological advancements, including the expansion of online services, but SSA is still light-years away from where they should be in 2025.  

        I am interested in seeing what Mr. Bisignano does to bring SSA up to speed in the modern era. I do think former Commissioner Martin O'Malley had done an exception job in the year that he helmed SSA and I like to think that Mr. Bisignano will take up the mantle of making SSA a more efficient and accurate system.  Only time will tell. 

        Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 101.