Social Security Administration workers are warning that the Trump administration’s plan to significantly shrink the agency could cause chaos and hinder their ability to provide service to the millions of retirees, disabled people and other Americans who rely on the program.
The SSA’s restructuring comes after President Trump vowed on the campaign trail not to touch the old-age and disability insurance program, which provides monthly financial payments to almost 70 million people, or about 1 in 5 Americans. At the same time, Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla who is serving as a close adviser to the president, are vowing to cut what they say is fraud and abuse across federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency.
But current Social Security employees caution that cutting the already strained Social Security workforce could impact beneficiaries in numerous ways, such as longer waits to qualify for disability benefits and for assistance on customer service issues.
“We are already short-staffed as it is,” said one current Social Security Administration employee, an attorney who works on disability applications and who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern that speaking publicly could jeopardize his job at the agency.
“Right now we are working on applications generally from 2023-ish,” he noted. But, he added, a significant workforce reduction could mean that “easily the wait times will be extended by one year.”
Each year, thousands of people awaiting disability decisions die before they receive their benefits, with former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley telling Nextgov/FCW in 2024 that about 30,000 people died while awaiting their determinations during fiscal 2023.
Most workers qualify for Social Security disability coverage through their payroll taxes, which provides a backstop in case you get injured and aren’t able to continue working, the Social Security worker noted. But cutting agency staff likely means it could become even more difficult for many disabled workers to get their benefits approved, he added.
The Social Security Administration didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Cuts come amid boomers turning “peak 65”
The SSA on Thursday sent an email to all employees stating that the agency would soon undergo a restructuring, including “significant workforce reductions.” On Friday, the agency said it plans to trim staffing to 50,000 workers, down from its current level of about 57,000 workers.
The agency is also offering financial incentives ranging as high as $25,000 to some employees who choose to voluntarily resign.
The agency’s workforce cuts come as the ranks of Americans receiving Social Security benefits have swelled to an all-time high, largely due to the aging baby boomer population. An average of about 11,000 boomers are set to turn 65 each day this year through 2027, according to a report from the Alliance for Lifetime Income.
That demographic change, called “peak 65,” is causing major economic and societal changes, with Social Security on the receiving end. Since 2014, the number of retired workers and their dependents receiving Social Security payments has surged by almost 30%, reaching 54 million people as of last year, according to agency data.
At the same time, the number of full-time workers at the Social Security Administration has declined almost 10% from about 63,000 employees in 2014 to about 57,000 workers in 2022, agency data shows.
Even before these pending cuts, some recipients were struggling with service issues at the Social Security Administration, Nancy Altman, the president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, told CBS MoneyWatch. “You’ve got wait times, you have phone calls that get dropped, you get put on hold for hours — and this will make it so much worse,” she said.
Long wait times for callers seeking help from the Social Security Administration’s workforce was identified as a trouble spot in the agency’s most recent annual performance report. Its goal: To shave an average 34-minute on-hold wait time to 12 minutes, although the agency said it was evaluating that “aspirational goal” as it was unable to hire additional workers last year.
Workers taking buyouts
Some Social Security employees are already opting for the buyouts, which could lead to a brain drain at the administration, another agency employee told CBS MoneyWatch. The employee, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns for his job safety, noted that several people in his group told him they planned to accept buyout offers.
Because Social Security workers with 25 years of experience are eligible for the buyouts, the agency will lose some of its most experienced workers, he added.
“You are going to see a slowdown in everything,” he said.
Morale at the agency is at “an all-time low,” a third Social Security employee said, who spoke on condition of anonymity as she is still employed at the agency.
Employees were also distressed by Acting Social Security Commissioner Lee Dudek’s response to Elon Musk’s demand that workers detail five recent work accomplishments. In an email sent to staff, Dudek singled out firing probationary workers as one of his personal achievements. “It left a very bad taste in our mouths,” the employee said.
Many agency workers receive modest salaries, the third Social Security worker added. All the Social Security employees who spoke with CBS MoneyWatch said they were drawn to the agency because they wanted to help people.
About 80% of Social Security workers earn somewhere between Grades 5 to 12 on the federal general schedule pay scale, which includes a starting pay range between about $33,000 to $74,000 a year, agency data shows.
Americans fund the Social Security Administration’s services through their payroll taxes, or FICA contributions, noted Rich Couture, the spokesman for the Social Security General Committee of the American Federation of Government Employees.
“The public paid for access to services with their FICA contributions,” Couture said. “We’re at a 50-year staffing low in the midst of a customer service crisis — now is the time for us to invest in Social Security with proper staffing to make further improvements.”