Social Security Phone Wait Times: The Best Times to Call
The Social Security Administration receives 80 million calls every year. Timing is everything if you want to get through.


No one likes to hang on the phone waiting for assistance; when the issue at hand is vital, such as maintaining your Social Security retirement or disability benefits, the stress and aggravation can make the situation worse. The best thing to do in this case is to prepare before calling the Social Security Administration (SSA) or filing a new claim for benefits so you'll know what to expect.
Announcements regarding workforce reductions, the consolidation and closing of in-person hearing offices at the SSA and the desire to move more customer service transactions online have some older Americans concerned about getting in touch with the SSA when they need to.
The data available on the Social Security website can give you the information you need to better time a phone call and to steel yourself for long wait times. In March 2025, the average amount of time a caller waited on hold to speak to a representative in English was 1 hour, 39 minutes.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Best times to call the Social Security Administration
The SSA typically receives 80 million calls each year to its national 800 phone number. Based on the average daily call volume data from April 2023 to March 2025, the SSA received its greatest number of calls in March 2025, with 10,428,157 calls for the month, averaging 483,549 calls per day. The second busiest month was January 2025, when they received 9,777,109, averaging 448,423 calls per day.
The passage of the Social Security Fairness Act resulted in a surge in calls to the SSA. Although they added a recorded message about the Act to the menu of automated services, more than 6,000 people each day still choose to wait to speak to a representative about the Act.
You can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. Wait times to speak to a representative are typically shorter in the morning, later in the week, and later in the month. Mondays are the busiest, and Fridays have shorter wait times, with the exception of the end of the day, when wait times steadily build to almost two hours by 5 p.m.
If you want to review the average wait times for every weekday for every hour from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., visit the Contact Social Security By Phone webpage to see the full breakdown.
Day | Best time to call before 12 | Best time to call after 12 | Worst time to call |
---|---|---|---|
Monday | 8 a.m.: average wait time is 25 minutes | 1 p.m.: average wait time is 1 hour, 32 minutes | 6 p.m.: average wait time is 2 hours, 27 minutes. At 7 p.m.: average wait time is 2 hours, 24 minutes |
Tuesday | 8 a.m.: average wait time is 24 minutes | 1 p.m.: average wait time is 1 hour, 37 minutes | 3 p.m.: average wait time is 2 hours, 3 minutes |
Wednesday | 8 a.m.: average wait time is 22 minute | 1 p.m.: average wait time is 1 hour, 26 minutes | 7 p.m.: average wait time is 2 hours, 4 minutes |
Thursday | 8 a.m.: average wait time is 21 minute | 1 p.m.: average wait time is 1 hour, 20 minutes | 7 p.m.: average wait time is 2 hours, 5 minutes |
Friday | 8 a.m.: average wait time is 21 minute | 1 p.m.: average wait time is 1 hour, 8 minutes | 7 p.m.: average wait time is 2 hours, 15 minutes |
Automated telephone services are available 24 hours a day and do not require you to wait to speak with a representative.
Average call wait and callback time trends
Average wait times predictably ticked up in January after the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act in late December, as demonstrated in the graph below. Wait times surged from 1 hour, 34 minutes to 1 hour, 52 minutes in January. Wait times slowly improved to 1 hour, 44 minutes in February and ticked down again by 5 minutes in March. to 1 hour, 39 minutes.
If you don't want to hang on the line, you can opt to have a representative call you back. The average amount of time a caller waited to receive a callback from a representative hasn't changed much from September 2024 to March 2025.
The shortest callback time in that period was in October 2024, when callers only waited 1 hour, 49 minutes for a callback. The longest wait was in January 2025, with an average wait time of 2 hours, 31 minutes; in March 2025, callback times were not much better at 2 hours, 30 minutes.
Bottom line
The SSA doesn't miss an opportunity to remind beneficiaries that the wait time for online services is zero minutes. If you need a bigger push to open a my Social Security account, here's a list of 15 Social Security tasks you can do online. These include applying for benefits, changing your direct deposit information and requesting a replacement Social Security or Medicare card.
Related Content
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

Donna joined Kiplinger as a personal finance writer in 2023. She spent more than a decade as the contributing editor of J.K.Lasser's Your Income Tax Guide and edited state specific legal treatises at ALM Media. She has shared her expertise as a guest on Bloomberg, CNN, Fox, NPR, CNBC and many other media outlets around the nation. She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and the University at Buffalo.
-
Stock Market Winners and Losers of the 'Big, Beautiful' Bill
Defense, manufacturing and tech should prosper, while health care and green energy stocks face hurdles.
-
I'm 68 and health issues forced me to retire. Should I claim Social Security or use my savings until I'm 70?
We asked financial planning experts for advice.
-
I'm 68 and Health Issues Forced Me to Retire. Should I Claim Social Security or Use My Savings Until I'm 70?
We asked financial planning experts for advice.
-
Four Ways a Massive Emergency Fund Can Hurt You More Than It Helps
Saving too much could mean you're missing opportunities to put your money to work. Redirect some of that money toward paying off debt, building retirement funds, fulfilling a dream or investing in higher-growth options.
-
Noctourism: The New Travel Trend For Your Next Trip
"Noctourism" is a new trend of building travel and vacations around events and plans that take place at night. Take a look at some inspiring noctourism ideas.
-
Decluttering Tips to Get a Head Start on Downsizing
Strategies include starting small, adopting a system, getting help from others and being ruthless about what to keep, even when it comes to sentimental items or inherited possessions.
-
I'm a Financial Planner: How to Dodge a Retirement Danger You May Not Have Heard About
Timing is everything, and sequence of returns risk can mean the difference between a retirement nest egg that's overflowing … or empty.
-
Caring for Aging Parents: An Expert Guide to Easing the Financial and Emotional Strain
Early conversations, financial planning and understanding the progression of care needs can help to mitigate stress and protect family relationships.
-
How Confident Retirees Think Differently About Their Future
Confident retirees approach their future with optimism and resourcefulness, focusing on possibilities rather than limitations. These seven tips show you how you can do the same.
-
Quiz: Social Security — Do You Know More Than the Average American?
Quiz See if you are above average when it comes to Social Security knowledge.