Social Security

A. Purpose

This message is to inform field offices of immediate action required to support the transition of Post-Entitlement/Eligibility (PE) appointments with the Enterprise Scheduling System (ESS) 2.0 release on Saturday, July 12, 2025. This release will provide the ability to schedule PE appointments. Field office (FO) managers must remove PE availability in eLAS to prevent duplicate appointments effective July 28.

The ESS enhancement will enable customers and technicians to schedule PE appointments, transitioning the scheduling process from eLAS to ESS. FO managers will be able to set default and temporary technician schedules in ESS for PE appointments. Enumeration and PE appointment topics will present appointment availability in 10-minute increments via the Staff Actions Page in ESS.

FO managers
· FO managers were instructed to zero out eLAS PE appointment availability on May 30, 2025, for July 28 and beyond to prevent any duplication of PE appointments in both eLAS and ESS.
· may begin adding technician availability in ESS for enumeration and PE appointments using the “Staff Action” page in ESS to update or add technician availability.
· should begin to set their availability for PE appointment topics during the week of July 14-18, 2025, to ensure that ESS PE appointments are available starting the following pay period, effective July 28, 2025.
· select “Manage Schedule” to establish or modify a technician’s schedule in ESS “Staff Action” page.
· see detailed instructions in the ESS Manager User Guide in the ESS Training Resources, ESS Project Site - Home (sharepoint.com).
FO technicians

· will be able to schedule PE appointments in ESS effective July 15, 2025, for appointments on July 28 and later.
· select “Schedule an Appointment” to schedule new or update existing appointments.
· see detailed scheduling instructions in the ESS Technician Training Guide in the ESS Training Resources, ESS Project Site - Home (sharepoint.com).
· check eLAS for availability for the period July 14-18, 2025, if PE appointments are not available in ESS.
· use ESS exclusively for PE appointments after July 28, 2025.
· PE topics available for technician scheduling include:
o Medical CDR
o Work CDR
o Overpayment
o Representative Payee
o Direct Deposit
o Non-Receipt
o Proofs
o Remittance
o SSI Limited Issues
o SSI Redetermination
o SSI Living Arrangements
o Other
NOTE: Do not schedule Medicare Part D appointments using ESS. Please continue to schedule Medicare Part D Subsidy applications using eLAS initial claims calendar. Otherwise, Manual closeout is required if ESS is used by technicians to schedule Medicare Part D Subsidy applications.

· If there are no PE appointments available in ESS, enter an unscheduled PE lead in eLAS

External customers
· will have the option to self-schedule in-office PE appointments after completing a questionnaire on the “Make an Appointment” page at www.ssa.gov. This online questionnaire will be available starting July 21, 2025, with appointments accessible from July 28, 2025.
· PE topics available for customer self-scheduling will include:
o Medicare issues
o Representative Payee
o Direct Deposit
o Proofs
o Non-Receipt
o Remittance
· If there are no PE appointments available in ESS, customers will be instructed to contact the N8NN for assistance.
SSA.gov make an appointment questionnaire (launch 07/21/25)

· A dynamic, plain-language tool to help users determine if they need an appointment without calling or visiting an office.

· Uses conditional logic to tailor questions based on user responses.

· Provides guidance on scheduling appointments or completing tasks without an appointment.

· Available in English and Spanish.

If asked about the questionnaire’s legitimacy:

· Confirm that SSA.gov/manage-benefits/make-an-appointment is an official U.S. government webpage.

· Explain that the questionnaire helps users determine if they need an appointment and provides instructions accordingly.

Reference
ESS Project Site - Home (sharepoint.com)