Former Social Security officials and left-leaning think tanks are warning that the Trump administration’s personnel cuts on the Social Security Administration threaten tens of millions of Americans’ retirement advantages — a claim that the White House firmly denies.
The Social Security Administration claims that its workforce reductions mainly involve employees “who do circuitously provide mission critical services”; nonetheless, critics of the staffing reductions argue they might delay the processing of latest applications for advantages. And a few warn that worse could occur.
In a recent CNBC interview, former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley predicted a “system collapse and an interruption of advantages” that he warned would come “inside the subsequent 30 to 90 days.” He went to date as to encourage Americans to “start saving now” to organize. O’Malley has appeared on various networks in recent weeks, attacking the involvement of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on the agency.
Nonetheless, President Donald Trump has promised that his administration won’t touch Social Security, other than removing people he claims are unrightfully receiving advantages (specifically, undocumented immigrants and deceased people).
What’s DOGE doing on the Social Security Administration?
DOGE reportedly has 10 staffers taking a look at Social Security. Trump says they have been “searching” for dead people receiving advantages, attempting to root out fraud that he alleges is widespread despite fact checks which have ruled those claims to be highly exaggerated.
Two offices of the Social Security Administration have also been closed: the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity and the Office of Transformation. As well as, the agency said it might close six of 10 regional offices.
The Social Security Administration didn’t reply to Money’s request for comment. Nonetheless, in public statements, the agency has disputed claims concerning the size of workforce cuts, while also denying media reports of plans to scale back telephone services. Last month, the agency announced a staffing goal of fifty,000, which could be a 12% decrease from the present worker count (57,000) — much lower than a 50% cut that was floated by an anonymous source in an Associated Press article.
In a Latest York Times report Monday, the agency said it’s “identifying efficiencies and reducing costs, with a renewed deal with mission critical work,” adding that it’s “committed to making sure Americans get the assistance they need.”
Greater than 68 million Americans receive Social Security advantages, a number that is grown as tens of millions of Baby Boomers have reached full retirement age. Those advantages are critical to the financial well-being of many retirees: Survey data shows that greater than 40% of Americans 65 and older couldn’t meet their basic needs without Social Security advantages.
Will DOGE cuts delay Social Security advantages?
Depending on who you ask, you will hear something different in response to this query — and the reply likely is dependent upon how they view Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s newly created department.
A representative of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1395, which represents Social Security employees in Illinois told CNBC that the federal government’s systems for paying advantages are mostly automated, meaning they would not be impacted by headcount reductions. Nonetheless, she predicted that the staff cuts could have severe consequences, mentioning the potential for delayed processing for brand new Social Security applicants.
The Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, issued a report this week arguing that the closure of regional offices will result in fewer disabled Americans accessing advantages, citing previous academic research. Already, greater than 1 million Americans have pending disability claims, and staff reductions could lead on to an extended backlog, based on the think tank. The report also said that older Americans could experience delays when claiming advantages.
“When there are usually not enough staff to process claims, latest retirement claimants could see delays in getting their advantages began,” the report said.
Given the recognition of the Social Security program and the number of people that depend upon it, it’s protected to say that any delays to advantages wouldn’t be taken well by the general public. The premise of DOGE is that agencies corresponding to the Social Security Administration are “bloated” and might provide the obligatory functions with fewer staff — whether or not that is possible stays to be seen.
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