For the Social Security Administration (SSA), the year thus far has been one of sweeping changes — some good, whilst others sparked criticism from the public or former agency officials.
Service delivery at the SSA in particular has been an ongoing point of concern for many who fear that benefit payments could face disruptions or delays if the agency remains understaffed.
In February, the agency put out an announcement revealing that it plans to reduce its workforce 7,000 employees bringing the total down from 57,000 to 50,000. As things currently stand, the agency has its lowest staff count on record in decades.
Subsequently, former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley has now claimed that the Trump Administration is withholding important metrics from members of Congress, and as a result, constituents are flooding their offices with complaints. Here is what you need to know.
Staffing at Social Security
Last Monday, former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley asserted that President Trump has let go of more than 7,000 employees at the SSA thereby “sapping its ability to connect Americans in Ohio and elsewhere with their benefits.”
Once the Trump Administration had been appointed to office at the beginning of the year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had been introduced to enact federal cutbacks. As a result of DOGE efforts at the SSA, a total of 7,150 employees were let go from the agency through means of layoffs, resignations, or retirement.
“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 agency previously stated.
A report from the Center for American Progress reported in June called this the largest staffing cut in the history of the agency, stating that, “the last time the SSA had this few employees was 1967, when the agency served 480 beneficiaries for every staff member. In 2025, the agency would be attempting to serve 1,480 beneficiaries for every staff member.”
Former SSA Commissioner speaks out
“Every member of Congress will tell you that — regardless of party — their phones have been exploding with additional numbers of people who have been calling their congressional representatives because they can’t get through to Social Security for the benefits that they’ve already earned,” O’Malley said in a virtual press conference.
“Because of the speed and the depth of the cruelty of the staff cuts to Social Security — an agency that was already struggling to serve record numbers of new beneficiaries because of baby boomers — the staff was cut to a 50-year low. The continued, never-fail, every-monthly string of payments by Social Security is very much in jeopardy.”
The agency recently put out an update stating that service delivery has greatly improved saving Americans millions of hours due to reduced wait time times both in-person and over the phone, as well as 24/7 online access. O’Malley, however, claims that the agency is not being completely transparent regarding its metrics and is therefore gaslighting the public.
When asked which numbers should the public follow to monitor performance, O’Malley said the following: “It’s not so much what they’re cherry picking and posting, it’s what they’re not sharing. I’d like to direct you to things to look at, but they don’t share those things. The place has become like the hermit kingdom — only the happy story gets told.”
O’Malley followed up with the instance of constituents across the country telling him that “they’re now seeing a six-month to 18-month waiting period between when an allowance is granted — say in the case of a disability — to when that person received their first benefit check.”
Regarding the claim of shortened wait times on the agency phone line, O’Malley is of the opinion that the agency has merely changed its definition of what is considered an “answered” call.
“‘Answer’ would appear to be anytime a person calls and hangs up after hearing a recording, or calls and gets run around the barn three times by a chatbot and has their call dumped,” he explained. “That’s what they call ‘answered.’ That’s what they call ‘served.’ None of it bears any reality to what people are experiencing.”