Workshop: SSA From Z to A

May 20, 2009

Speakers:
Chuck Liptz, Director, Employment Wage Reporting and Relations, Social Security Administration
Bill Brees, Employer Service Liaison Officer, San Francisco Region, Social Security Administration

Speakers Announce Modification to SSN Verification, Updated Processes at SSA

Beginning this fall, the Social Security Administration will change its telephone verification of Social Security numbers for employees to a voice recognition system, rather than use telephone agents, said Bill Brees, employer service liaison officer (ESLO) for SSA's San Francisco region. Brees and Chuck Liptz, director, Employment Wage Reporting and Relations at SSA, updated participants in a workshop May 20 at the American Payroll Association's 27th annual Congress, held in Long Beach, Calif.

During the workshop "SSA from Z to A," Liptz told attendees that there are changes in registration to SSA's Business Services Online (BSO) system that include an ability to reset a user's password electronically if a password is forgotten, as opposed to being required to re-register, noted Liptz. In addition, he said that there is a requirement for government systems that passwords expire every 90 days.

For next year's wage reporting, there will be some online screen modifications to the BSO portal, including tabs near the top of the page to allow easier navigation, Liptz said.  

Brees announced that the new voice recognition system for verifying SSNs over the phone will allow for an increased number of employees (10, up from five currently) and is officially called "Telephone Number Employer Verification" or TNEV.

According to a document obtained by BNA expected to be uploaded to SSA's Web site "soon," users of the new TNEV system will be prompted by an electronic voice to say or press numbers in order to get results on up to 10 employee names and SSNs.

A correspondence program to individuals is under way to help eliminate the discrepant wage reports that end up in a "suspense file" due to name/SSN mismatches, said Brees.

Liptz announced that SSA has started a project to upgrade its wage reporting systems called "Earnings: The Next Generation."