{"id":1047,"date":"2025-03-19T20:56:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T20:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/social-security-employees-warn-of-damage-from-doge\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T20:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T20:56:15","slug":"social-security-employees-warn-of-damage-from-doge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/social-security-employees-warn-of-damage-from-doge\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security Employees Warn of Damage From DOGE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Eleanor H., 66, called the Social Security Administration last month seeking details about her retirement benefits, she didn\u2019t expect to comfort the representative who answered. The woman started sobbing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI asked her what was wrong, and she said she and her co-workers were informed by email to accept a taxable $20,000 payout or risk termination,\u201d said Eleanor, who lives in New Jersey (she asked to use only her first name out of privacy concerns).<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The rep still answered all of Eleanor\u2019s questions. \u201cThrough her tears she said, \u2018What am I going to do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Social Security Administration, which sends retirement, survivor and disability payments to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/policy\/docs\/quickfacts\/stat_snapshot\/2025-01.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">73 million<\/a> people each month, has long been called the \u201cthird rail\u201d of politics \u2014 largely untouchable given its widespread popularity and role as one of the country\u2019s remaining safety nets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But in recent weeks, the Trump administration, led by Elon Musk\u2019s crew of cost cutters at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has taken its chain saw to the agency\u2019s operations. The agency has announced plans to cut up to 12 percent of its work force, at a time its staffing is at a 50-year low. It has also <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/news\/press\/releases\/2025\/#2025-02-27\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">offered<\/a> early retirement and other incentives, including payments up to $25,000, to the entire staff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many current and former Social Security officials fear the cuts could create gaping holes in the agency\u2019s infrastructure, destabilizing the program, which <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbpp.org\/research\/social-security\/social-security-lifts-more-people-above-the-poverty-line-than-any-other\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">keeps millions of people<\/a> out of poverty and large percentages of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/news\/press\/factsheets\/basicfact-alt.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">retirees rely on<\/a> for the bulk of their income.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The actions have caused Social Security employees and former commissioners and executives of both parties to sound alarm bells, saying it would be difficult to repair the damage, which could threaten access to benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEverything they have done so far is breaking the agency\u2019s ability to serve the public,\u201d said Martin O\u2019Malley, the most recent former Social Security commissioner under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. He said he feared that Mr. Musk\u2019s team had taken most of the actions necessary to create a total system collapse, whether in skyrocketing wait times for customer service, system interruptions or a timely payment of benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a statement to The New York Times, the Social Security Administration said that it was \u201cidentifying efficiencies and reducing costs, with a renewed focus on mission critical work,\u201d including streamlining redundant layers of management, and is \u201ccommitted to ensuring Americans get the help they need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Social Security benefits cannot be changed without legislation passed by Congress. But the delivery of those paychecks \u2014 and enabling new people to enroll or make changes \u2014 rests upon a complex set of systems that are powered using programming languages developed in the 1970s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The people who can most deftly operate the agency\u2019s old systems are, perhaps not surprisingly, nearing or already eligible for retirement. At least 30 percent of the technical staff in the office of the chief information officer fits in those categories, former executives estimated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are looking at a degradation of the system as a whole because we have a whole line of expertise walking out the door,\u201d said Shelley Washington, executive vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1923, a unit of the federal workers\u2019 union. \u201cThey are firing first and aiming later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He said the delivery of checks for people already enrolled in the system shouldn\u2019t be affected, for now \u2014 but it\u2019s becoming increasingly uncertain who will be around to quickly fix issues when they arise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Michael Astrue, a former agency commissioner appointed by President George W. Bush, said it appeared that Mr. Musk has imported the strategy he used when he bought Twitter, \u201cwhere you go into some place established, level it and then figure you\u2019re going to improvise your way out,\u201d he said, speaking at a briefing on Thursday held by the National Academy of Social Insurance. \u201cIt\u2019s extremely destructive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Jason Fichtner, who held several positions at the agency, including deputy commissioner and chief economist, put it even more bluntly at the briefing. \u201cIt\u2019s more like a drunk operating a wrecking ball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The White House issued <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/articles\/2025\/03\/fact-check-president-trump-will-always-protect-social-security-medicare\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a statement<\/a> on Tuesday, reiterating that President Trump would not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Few dispute that the aging technology needs a reboot. The system hasn\u2019t undergone a major overhaul because Congress hasn\u2019t allocated money for it. It\u2019s also an enormous undertaking, and a lack of continuity in leadership makes it difficult to carry out, current and former technology staff and executives said. It would take an estimated five to seven years and cost more than $2 billion, according to one former technology executive, who didn\u2019t want to be named because the analysis had not been completed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Though experts familiar with the agency\u2019s operations acknowledged there was room to improve efficiency, they said it was already run leanly. The agency functions on a budget of less than 1 percent of its annual benefit payments, which provide retirement, survivor and disability payments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is extremely low,\u201d Mr. O\u2019Malley said, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/legislation\/testimony_032024a.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">noting<\/a> that it\u2019s far lower than the administrative costs of private insurers.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-6596de2a\">Confidentiality concerns<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That hasn\u2019t stopped Mr. Musk\u2019s team. Even without a permanent commissioner, the agency is making big decisions: It has already said it would eliminate 7,000 of its 57,000-person work force, and will close six of its 10 regional offices, which coordinate and provide support to employees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Of its 1,200 field offices that directly serve the public, more than 40 are to be closed, according to Social Security Works, an advocacy group. The group is trying to track the changes, but said that its data was based on an unreliable list released by DOGE. (The Social Security headquarters itself was also on a closings list, then later dropped.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Two dozen senior staff members have announced their departures, including the agency\u2019s top three cybersecurity executives, according to a memo issued on Feb. 28 from Leland C. Dudek, the Social Security Administration\u2019s acting commissioner. He took the reins when Michelle King, the previous acting commissioner, left abruptly after refusing to give DOGE representatives access to private data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Tiffany Flick, the agency\u2019s former acting chief of staff with 30 years of service at Social Security, recently recounted the events around that episode, which also led to her retirement. She expressed deep concerns about the safety of the confidential data and the program overall, according to her sworn testimony on March 6 in a federal lawsuit. The data, she said, has already been misinterpreted and used to spread misinformation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mike Russo, the new chief information officer, \u201cseemed completely focused on questions from DOGE officials based on the general myth of supposed widespread Social Security fraud, rather than facts,\u201d Ms. Flick said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The \u201cdisregard for critical processes\u201d and the \u201csignificant loss of expertise\u201d have left her seriously concerned the programs will not continue to operate without disruption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThat could result in benefit payments not being paid out or delays in payments,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Angela Digeronimo, a claims specialist and a union leader in New Jersey who has been with Social Security for 28 years, said she believed she was witnessing a dismantling of the agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt will affect the public in a very tangible way,\u201d she said, speaking in her capacity as a union official, noting that it already takes about eight months for applicants to the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.urban.org\/urban-wire\/downsizing-staff-will-make-it-harder-receive-social-security-payments\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">disability program<\/a> to learn if they\u2019re eligible. \u201cI hate to say this, but more and more people will die while waiting for a medical determination on their disability claim.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-60e0dfc7\">Customer service concerns<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nicole Francis, a financial planner in New York, called the agency last month on behalf of a 100-year-old client who wanted to change the bank into which her benefits were deposited. Ms. Francis knew there would be a wait, but she didn\u2019t expect it to be more than two hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Instead of holding, she visited her client at home and helped her make the change with a new online account.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNot all senior Americans have a trusted representative and should have the option of telephone customer service,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last week, in an effort to combat fraud, the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ssa.gov\/correcting-the-record-about-social-security-direct-deposit-and-telephone-services\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">agency said<\/a> it would no longer allow beneficiaries to change bank information over the phone \u2014 only online or in person.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Musk has said that he wants to cut waste, fraud and abuse at the agency, but he and President Trump have continued to repeat false claims that millions of dead people are collecting benefits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In fact, the Social Security Office of the Inspector General, which is charged with uncovering fraud and inefficiencies, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/oig.ssa.gov\/assets\/uploads\/a-06-21-51022.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">published a report in 2023<\/a> that explains why these people don\u2019t have recorded deaths, but also do not collect checks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBoth Musk and Trump are grossly mischaracterizing the death data,\u201d said <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbpp.org\/blog\/setting-the-record-straight-on-social-security\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Kathleen Romig<\/a>, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and a former agency adviser. (Mr. Trump also fired the acting inspector general.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last week, Mr. Musk, who has called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, claimed that programs like it are used to attract illegal immigrants. The agency has said it collects more than $20 billion in payroll taxes annually from unauthorized workers, most of whom never collect benefits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMixing up these allegations of fraud with these partisan attacks, I think, kind of confuses the public,\u201d said <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.urban.org\/author\/jack-smalligan#:~:text=Jack%20Smalligan%20is%20a%20senior,Office%20of%20Management%20and%20Budget.\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Smalligan<\/a>, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and a former deputy associate director at the Office of Management and Budget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The administration\u2019s aggressive cost-cutting has begun to worry retirees like Eleanor H., who reached the distressed Social Security representative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She said she won\u2019t be able to survive in retirement without her Social Security check, but has become so concerned about the administration\u2019s actions that she called to see how much she would receive if she filed for benefits early, a few months before her full retirement age. Healthy retirees are often advised against claiming early because waiting longer locks in a higher benefit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The representative assured Eleanor that she thought her retirement benefits would be safe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey will be busy coming for us,\u201d she told her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Susan C. Beachy<!-- --> and <!-- -->Jack Begg<!-- --> contributed research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Eleanor H., 66, called the Social Security Administration last month seeking details about her retirement benefits, she didn\u2019t expect to comfort the representative who answered. The woman started sobbing. \u201cI asked her what was wrong, and she said she and her co-workers were informed by email to accept a taxable $20,000 payout or risk [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[773,774,771,241,240,772],"class_list":["post-1047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loan","tag-damage","tag-doge","tag-employees","tag-security","tag-social","tag-warn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}