Over the next few weeks, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will be undergoing some significant changes. As a result of these changes, workers at the agency have begun warning that some Social Security beneficiaries could see a delay with their payments.
Close to 70 million Americans depend on these checks from the agency on a monthly basis and as such, a delay in payments could have potentially severe impacts on these households.
Here is what you need to know.
What is causing this potential delay with Social Security checks?
Workers at the agency have been instructed by officials to prioritize 900,000 or so complicated cases this month which could potentially cause thousands of Americans to see their checks stopped or their payments delayed, according to SSA employees who spoke to USA Today.
Many of these beneficiaries are reliant on their monthly benefit checks to cover basic essential expenses such food or housing. As such, if payments are faced with a delay due to the implementation of these changes — as order by the Trump Administration — it could have a significant impact on beneficiaries. “Social Security recipients who are making simple changes like location or bank account updates could face a longer wait than usual,” according to what SSA employees told USA Today.
These potential delays will occur as a result of the priority placed on the approximately 900,000 complex cases that still have to be adjusted as a result of the Social Security Fairness Act.
“The changes are a response to the Social Security Fairness Act, which provided benefits for those who paid into the system but were otherwise ineligible for Social Security, including police, firefighters, teachers, and other public servants,” Drew Powers, founder of Illinois-based Powers Financial Group, shared with Newsweek.
“More than 2 million of these cases were straightforward enough to be automated, but the remaining 900,000 claims are more complicated and must be approved by hand.”
On one hand, the White House has claimed that current beneficiaries should not be affected by the focus on these cases. On the other hand, however, SSA workers are saying that simple changes like updating direct deposit information or Medicaid billing issues could be pushed back. Furthermore, the workers have been given a deadline of July 1 to process the remaining Fairness Act cases. However, expediting these cases could result in a backlog for beneficiaries with different issues.
Previously, White House spokesperson Liz Hudson said that, “Using automation, SSA has already expedited over $15.1 billion in long-delayed retroactive payments to more than 2.3 million individuals affected.”
“The new directive to prioritize Social Security Fairness Act claims, along with staffing cuts enacted by DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency], is creating a backlog to complete other claims and service work like mailing address and direct deposit changes. These delays could be the difference between receiving your check or not,” Powers further shared with Newsweek.
Impact of this backlog
SSA employees have been “offered weekend overtime to process claims,” as per USA Today. This is following the Department of Government Efficiency’s motion to cut the SSA workforce by 12% by means of offering a buyout for employees who opted for early retirement.
Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, said to Newsweek, “For months, we’ve been hearing the only cuts to Social Security would be to administrative offices, not to benefits. However, lost in the discussion was how these administrative cuts could provide their own series of problems. Applications for new beneficiaries, account changes for existing ones, and every issue in between these have to be processed, and with fewer employees to assist, delays could be significant.”
“As of right now, there is no need for concern, but the concerns should motivate those receiving benefits to start the process of enrolling, making changes, or anything else as soon as possible. And, most importantly, be prepared to wait,” Beene added.