Question Period Note: SERVICE CANADA PENSIONS CALL CENTRE

How is Service Canada leveraging investments in the Pensions Call Centre to improve access and reduce wait times for Canadians?

• The Department is taking action to reduce wait times and ensure Canadians, including vulnerable seniors, have timely access to the information and support they require.

• Canadians calling the Pensions Call Centre can expect near 100% accessibility in accessing the queue to speak to an agent, rather than be asked to call back at another time.

• Even with these improvements, Canadians may still experience longer wait times to reach a Pensions Call Centre agent during peak periods.

The Pensions Call Centre offers virtually 100% accessibility, meaning all clients can choose to wait to speak to an agent rather than hearing a busy signal.

In 2024-25, as of the week ending September 6, 2024, the Pensions Call Centre answered 1.4 million calls with an average annual wait time of 11.5 minutes, compared to 1.2 million calls and an average wait time of 11.4 minutes for the same period in 2023-24, and 0.9 million calls and an average wait time of 51 minutes in 2022-23. The Pensions Call Centre’s service level target is answering 80% of calls within 10 minutes. As of the week ending September 6, 2024, the month-to-date service level stood at 42.7% while the year-to-date result stood at 60.9%, compared to 41.3% and 63.8%, respectively, for the same period in 2023-24, and 0.4% and 1.6% respectively in 2022-23.

The Pensions Call Centre has experienced a significant increase in call demand since 2019 20. The growing call demand to the Pensions Call Centre has been driven by special and changing payments stemming from events and legislative changes, such as the Compensatory One-Time Grant that was sent to GIS beneficiaries in April 2022, OAS increase for seniors aged 75 and over in July 2022; and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Enhancements. Increasing call demand to the Pensions call centre is also a result of changing demographics within Canada.

The average handle time of a call is the length of time that a client is on the phone with an agent. The Pensions Call Centre has also experienced an increase in call handle times since 2019-20, lowering the number of calls an agent can answer. As of September 6, 2024, in 2024-25, call handle times are five minutes higher (51%) than 2019-20.

This is primarily due to increasing client authentication requirements, which has become necessary to ensure the protection of personal information. Requiring seniors to provide complex, account-specific information leads to longer call handling times. The Pensions Call Centre call handling capacity was also impacted by calls for help to access online services and for payment explanations.

If pressed (Access)
• Individuals can use one of Service Canada’s online or telephone self-service options to obtain general program information or consult their account, allowing them to resolve enquiries without waiting to speak to a representative.
• Service Canada will soon offer virtual hold, where clients waiting to speak to an agent can be called back when they are the next in line. This feature is expected to launch for Pensions by Fall 2024.

If pressed (Teletypewriter Service)
• Service Canada offers a teletypewriter (TTY) service for speech and hearing-impaired clients to access the Pensions program.

• Teletypewriter clients can leave a detailed message and will be called back by teletypewriter within one business day.

• Service Canada is implementing a new solution that would modernize the teletypewriter service by allowing calls to be answered directly by an agent rather than leaving a message.