The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been the topic of headlines more often than not as of late. This is due to the seemingly continuous number of sweeping changes happening within the agency for a variety of reasons.
Some of the changes do appear to merely be rumors or allegations, however.
Initial changes at the Social Security Administration
Amongst its first act after being formed, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced that cutbacks would be enacted within the SSA and ten field offices would be closed. In response to this, former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley said that a “total system collapse” was imminent and the Trump administration is “taking a wrecking ball to Social Security.” He also predicted that an interruption to benefit payments would soon follow.
This was just speculation from O’Malley, however, matters had been worsened somewhat when the then acting commissioner Leland Dudek initially shared that there would be significant layoffs and office closures. These statements were soon retracted, however.
Dudek later revealed that a court order could result in the closure of the agency entirely. Subsequently, the court had to issue another letter revealing that the initial letter had been misinterpreted. The SSA then issued a notice that no offices will be permanently shut down, nor are there any active plans to do so.
If a local office does happen to be closed, it is not likely to be permanent. These closures only occur for temporary reasons such as facilities or weather issues and once these matters are cleared up, the offices should be opened again.
In terms of factual changes that have indeed occurred, a White Plains, NY hearing office has been closed, along with several small hearing rooms that were no longer in use and had no assigned employees. Additionally, the SSA workforce has also faced a downsizing. As a result of the layoffs and the various rumors circulating, many concerned citizens have been calling in and as a result, call volumes have increased by 19%, causing lengthy wait times and difficulty when making an appointment with the agency.
The SSA has also announced that starting in summer, beneficiaries with online Social Security accounts will now be able to access their Social Security Number (SSN) digitally. This change has been enacted to lower the risk of SSN card theft, as well as to aid those who have forgotten their number or lost their card since they will no longer have to apply for and wait until a new card arrives in the mail. It should also be noted that those who wish to continue using the physical card may still do so.
How to approach the SSA going forward
Using the SSA website is now the fastest course of action due to the minimized staff and telephone issues. Actions like applying for survivor’s benefits or changing personal information, however, cannot be done online and as such, it would be best to contact your local SSA office directly rather than phoning the main SSA line.
Under DOGE, identity verification rules in certain situations have also been changed. When an individual applies for benefits or wishes to change their direct deposit information, they will now need to provide a photo ID, but they will not need to visit a field office to do so. This is because the ID photo can simply be uploaded via their my Social Security account on the SSA website.
Furthermore, as a result of the rumors and speculation, many individuals have decided to begin applying for Social Security benefits earlier than they ordinarily would have. This is, of course, not the wisest course of action since claiming benefits early means that your benefit will face a small reduction every month until the beneficiary’s full retirement age is reached.
Additionally, an increased number of early applicants could hasten the depletion of the Social Security trust fund which will be bad news for everyone in the future.