WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration, tasked with running the program relied on by more than 73 million Americans, has begun to reorganize and slash staff, leading to major concerns among Democrats in Congress.
“The American people should realize the Social Security Administration is already at its lowest level of staffing in 50 years,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said during a press conference. “That’s why fewer than 40% of people who call to talk to a Social Security agent get through to talk to someone. That’s why it takes, on average, 240 days to process a disability claim. And that’s why last year an estimated 30,000 Americans died while waiting on a decision about their disability benefits.”
The Social Security Administration announced last week that it would “soon implement agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions.”
“Through these massive reorganizations, offices that perform functions not mandated by statute may be prioritized for reduction-in-force actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing,” the SSA wrote in a press release.
A separate statement said the Social Security Administration would seek to lower the number of its employees from 57,000 to 50,000. That press release also said it is “no longer sustainable” for the SAA to operate 10 regional offices and that it will reduce that to four.
And Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek announced Monday the administration would cut $800 million from its budget during the current fiscal year.
A substantial portion of that total, $550 million, will come from freezing SSA and Disability Determination Services hiring and “drastically” reducing overtime within that division. Another $150 million in cost-cutting would come from cancelling Information Technology Systems contracts. And $103.5 million would come from closing down office space, according to a press release.
The plans follow Social Security Acting Commissioner Michelle King resigning in mid-February after refusing to allow Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service access to the private information the agency holds on Americans, according to multiple news reports.
Retired workers, people with disabilities
Social Security, established in August 1935, provided more than 73 million Americans with direct payments in January, according to data from the agency.
Retired workers and their dependents make up 78.5% of those beneficiaries, while workers with disabilities and their dependents make up 10.5% and survivors of deceased workers make up 11%, according to a fact sheet from the administration.
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will be able to keep paying claims in full until 2033, at which point “the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 79 percent of scheduled benefits,” according to the latest trustees report.
Congress must intervene before then if lawmakers want to avoid a 21% cut to benefits, which would likely increase over time.
President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that Republicans will not “touch” Social Security, though Musk, a special government employee and close friend of his, said on a podcast posted late last week that he believes Social Security is “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission: “A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often promise to invest your money and generate high returns with little or no risk. But in many Ponzi schemes, the fraudsters do not invest the money. Instead, they use it to pay those who invested earlier and may keep some for themselves.”
Getting on the phone with Social Security
Democrats said during their press conference on Capitol Hill on Monday that the staff cuts could impact how successfully the program is administered and rebuked Musk for the Ponzi remark.
Murray said part of the commitment that goes along with Social Security benefits is “being able to get on the phone with an actual human being without having to wait on hold for an hour or more” and “being able to visit an in-office person to help you get your benefits without having to jump through hoops or drive hundreds of miles.”
“But Trump and Elon are decimating the Social Security Administration,” Murray said. “And without adequate staff at the agency, there will be people who cannot get their benefits.”
Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, ranking member on the Finance Committee, said he believes the staff cuts at the Social Security Administration are “a first step on the path to privatizing Social Security.”
Wyden said he was concerned the staffing cuts would lead to delays in getting benefit checks to people who rely on the program.
“Once they’ve broken it, DOGE and the billionaire allies are going to swoop in and hand Social Security over to the well-heeled contractors in Wall Street,” Wyden said. “Elon Musk is new to politics, but he gave the game away when, as my colleagues said, he called Social Security a Ponzi scheme.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said that many seniors prefer to talk to an actual person when they have questions about enrolling in the program or with their Social Security benefits.
“We all know this and you probably know this from your own parents or grandparents. They rely on being able to talk to people. They bring in the papers they get in the mail, or some email they got,” Klobuchar said. “And there can be a lot of confusion for anyone in dealing with it.”
