If speculation is to be believed, it would appear that the entire system of Social Security is currently standing on a pair of incredibly unstable legs. If the collapse of this system is imminent, where will this leave the more than 70 million Americans who are reliant on these monthly benefit checks to make ends meet?
Is DOGE ruining the Social Security system?
The former Social Security Commissioner has warned that actions carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the federal agency could lead to “collapse of the entire system”– a system that pays out benefits to more than 70 million Americans.
In February, not too long after the Trump Administration took to the White House, DOGE began working at the Social Security Administration (SSA). DOGE is headed by tech billionaire and advisor to Donald Trump himself, Elon Musk.
Subsequently, a number of DOGE mandated changes were made within the SSA including a downsizing of the work force from 57,000 to 50,000. Additionally, some changes were made to customer services and several regional offices were closed.
The Biden-era commissioner, Martin O’Malley has warned that these DOGE cutbacks are certain to “cascade into a collapse” of the whole Social Security system. He further added that these job cuts have resulted in a “50 percent reduction in the people that keep the IT systems going.”
According to a February 27 press release issued by the SSA, it was confirmed that the workforce would be reduced by means of voluntary early retirement by those over the age of 50 who had met certain service requirements. Resignation from other staff members was also presented as an option with voluntary separation incentive payments offered to employees who opted for either of the two options.
The SSA also shared that the “massive reorganizations would lead to abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing.”
With regards to the matter of cutbacks, the SSA has stated that, “These steps prioritize customer service by streamlining redundant layers of management, reducing non-mission critical work, and potential reassignment of employees to customer service positions. Also supporting this priority is looking for efficiencies and other opportunities to reduce costs across all spending categories, including information technology and contractor spending. SSA is committed to ensure this plan has a positive effect on the delivery of Social Security services.”
Are O’Malley’s fears justified?
O’Malley is of the belief that these cuts are occurring due to other problems eating away at the agency and his fears may just be spot on. As of late, reports of SSA website crashes and lengthy waits for phone or in-person services have been reported. The most shocking report of complaint, however, has been the matter of some recipients of Social Security being declared as dead when they are not.
“You’re seeing…outages in some of the customer-facing aspects of it,” O’Malley observed. “Those outages are going to become more regular, rather than intermittent. They’re going to happen for longer durations.”
“Ultimately, you’re going to see that cascade into a collapse of the entire system and an interruption for some time of benefits,” he added. “I don’t see—with the path that they’re on, I believe they’ve taken probably 90 percent of the actions necessary to accomplish that aim.”