Millions of Americans who rely on Social Security benefits may be faced with a delay in their benefit payments going forward according to a warning from former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley. Citing internal chaos within the Social Security Administration (SSA) under the Trump Administration, along with mass staffing cuts, when speaking at public forum in Long Island, O’Malley shared that payments are more than likely to be interrupted.
“I truly believe there’s going to be some interruption of benefits for some period of time, and I believe that will probably happen in the very near future,” O’Malley stated, as per Long Island Press. “I’ve never hoped I was wrong so much in my life.”
What to know about this new uncertainty regarding Social Security checks
Retirees, surviving spouses or family members, and disabled individuals, amongst others, make up over 70 million of Americans who rely on Social Security to make ends meet, and for many of these individuals, these checks are their sole source of income.
If O’Malley’s warnings turn out to be true, and there is indeed going to be a delay with these benefit checks, many vulnerable individuals will be faced with financial crisis. This concern of a delay had come about as a result of hasty changes made by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE is a Trump-backed initiative that is aimed at slashing federal spending.
Under the former President Joe Biden, O’Malley had been leading the SSA from 2023 to 2024. During this time, O’Malley regularly warned of the potential jeopardy that would be caused by the proposed cuts and implementation of DOGE.
“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” O’Malley told CNBC. “I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days.”
O’Malley’s warnings have been further reiterated by Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com.
“Looking at O’Malley’s warnings, I think we’re seeing smoke that could absolutely lead to fire. The comb of big staffing cuts, office closures and system outages….It all creates a recipe making payment interruptions a real possibility for the first time in Social Security’s history,” Ryan stated.
What happens now?
At present, the SSA has already cut around 7,000 positions. Due to this 12% reduction of its workforce, there have been significant delays with claim approvals, in addition to repeated service outages.
At a recent town hall event hosted by Representatives Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi, O’Malley outlined how this staffing issue is causing systematic instability. His concerns were backed by Gillen and Suozzi with Suozzi asking, why “you cut 7,000 employees to save 0.06 percent of the budget from one of the most important agencies?”
In response, Lee Dudek, acting SSA commissioner claimed that these changes were required to “eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies.”
“For too long, SSA has operated on autopilot,” Dudek stated in a March 3 press release. “It is time to change just that.”
Despite any risks, no official changes have been made to benefit payments. However, due to the recent restructuring of the SSA, several key internal offices were dismantled. Additionally, ties with academic research partnerships, such as the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium, were severed.
“DOGE’s approach seems flawed,” Ryan observed. “You can’t just slash 10+ percent of staff, close offices and expect everything to run smoothly. Social Security already operates with minimal administrative costs [less than 1 percent of benefits paid], so there isn’t much fat to trim without hitting muscle.”
As such, if payments are halted or delayed, O’Malley has predicted political blowback which is why he is urgently pressing for legislative action and public pressure.
“I think many people throughout the country are going to start bringing a lot of heat to members of Congress who have been facilitating, supporting, aiding and abetting the breaking of their Social Security and the interruption of benefits that they work their whole lives to earn,” O’Malley stated in March.