The Trump administration is planning to slash jobs and make major changes at the federal agency responsible for administering Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits to millions of Americans with disabilities.
The Social Security Administration said late last week that it “will soon implement agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions.”
The agency indicated that it’s planning to shrink its workforce to 50,000, down from 57,000 employees.
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“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 Social Security Administration said in a message to its employees. “The agency may reassign employees from non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions.”
Employees are being given the option to say that they are interested in being reassigned or choose to retire or resign.
Currently, Social Security has a regional structure with 10 offices, which the agency said will be reduced to four regions. Changes are also expected at the agency’s headquarters. The agency described its workforce as “bloated” and officials said they expect that much of the staff reductions will come from employees electing to leave.
“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,” Social Security said in a statement. “SSA is committed to ensure this plan has a positive effect on the delivery of Social Security services.”
The move is part of a broader effort by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to cut the size of the federal workforce.
More than 73 million Americans receive Social Security, SSI or both each month, including over 11 million people with disabilities. Advocates say they don’t see how the agency could cut thousands from its payroll without compromising services.
“For many people with disabilities, Social Security is the difference between making rent or being evicted, between having enough food to get through the week or going hungry, and between having enough gas in the tank to get to the doctor or missing an appointment,” said Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and health care policy at The Arc of the United States. “The SSA is already running on fumes with its lowest staffing levels in 50 years. I am deeply concerned that the scale of the proposed staffing cuts and the upheaval that is happening right now at SSA could devastate Social Security programs and put the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities at risk.”
Shannon Benton, executive director at The Senior Citizens League, a nonprofit that advocates for seniors, was even more blunt.
“Any staff reduction will certainly result in longer waiting times, delays in processing claims, and even more difficulty navigating the system for those who need assistance the most,” Benton said.
The announcement about restructuring comes after Social Security closed its Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, which was responsible for civil rights, accessibility, reasonable accommodations and other disability services, and placed employees from that office on administrative leave.
“Our focus is supporting President Trump’s priorities, which include streamlining functions and prioritizing essential work,” said Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, when the civil rights office closure was announced.
The agency also shuttered its Office of Transformation, calling it redundant, and instituted an organizational realignment of its Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight, which reviews program quality and effectiveness and oversees fraud prevention efforts. In addition, Social Security terminated $15 million in Retirement and Disability Research Consortium cooperative agreements with research centers as part of an effort to “root out waste and abuse,” Dudek said.
