President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week aimed at digitizing many government functions, including the process of receiving Social Security benefits, which will make receiving benefits easier.
It is mandated under the executive order, titled Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, that seventeen different government entities “account for their customers’ experiences” when it comes to providing services.
The executive order is described in detail by the White House, including how it will specifically address Social Security benefits.
Retirement benefits will be claimed online, and retirees will be notified of the status of their application throughout the process, according to a statement from the White House released with the executive order.
As a result, “Medicare recipients will receive personalized online tools that will allow them to save money on prescription drugs, manage their health care, have access to expanded customer support options (including an in-network pharmacy finder tool) and have a more streamlined enrollment process with the Social Security Administration.”
The executive order will also seek to streamline the processes for filing taxes, disaster relief, everyday travel, student loans, Veterans Affairs health care and benefits, poverty assistance, and financing small businesses, among other things.
Read More: 13 States Where Tax is Imposed on Social Security Income of These Categories of Retirees
The order will also make it easier to navigate records for “women seeking maternal health care and nutrition access during the critical early years of their children’s lives,” according to the court.
According to Bloomberg News, the executive order will have the greatest impact on Americans over the age of sixty-five.
As White House staff secretary Neera Tanden explained before Vice President Joe Biden signed the executive order, “There is frequently a time tax—it can take an extended period of time to fill out a form, or to wait in line, or to access a benefit, and our focus is really on ensuring that we’re minimizing those frictions.”
Biden is still trying to get the other main piece of the administration’s legislative agenda, the Build Back Better Act, passed by the House but not yet by the Senate, passed by the Senate.
A columnist for The Washington Post, Henry Olsen, wrote in an opinion piece this week that the Build Back Better Act will not be passed after all.
The idea is that the vote of Sen. Joe Manchin will determine whether or not the bill passes in the Senate (D-W.Va.). Manchin has made no indication that he will support the version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives last November.
Furthermore, even if a lesser bill supported by Manchin were to pass the Senate, there is a potential that it would not have enough support to clear the House.
According to a study published last week by CNBC, Wall Street economists believe that Build Back Better will finally pass, which will be excellent news for companies involved in infrastructure.
