Social Security Announces Workforce and Organization Plans
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: February 28, 2025
Consistent with recent executive orders issued by the White House, the Social Security Administration will continue to implement efficiencies and reduce costs, with a renewed focus on mission critical work for the American people.
The agency plans to reduce the size of its bloated workforce and organizational structure, with a significant focus on functions and employees who do not directly provide mission critical services. Social Security recently set a staffing target of 50,000, down from the current level of approximately 57,000 employees. Rumor of a 50 percent reduction is false.
Initial steps to reduce the workforce included offering a limited number of employees the opportunity to leave the agency under the Deferred Resignation Program and Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA).
Yesterday, the agency announced to all employees that Social Security would soon implement agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions. The announcement includes offering Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) to all employees on a first come first serve basis and expanding VERA to all employees. Both VERA and VSIP require employees to opt in and to separate from the agency by specific dates.
Social Security anticipates that much of the staff reductions needed to reach the target of 50,000 will come from retirement, VSIP, and resignation. Additional reductions will come from reduction-in-force (RIF) actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions. RIF also can include directed reassignments from one position to another position in the agency. Agencies are required to submit their RIF plans to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by March 13, 2025. No date has been set when a RIF might begin after OPM approves the plan.
SSA has operated with a regional structure consisting of 10 offices, which is no longer sustainable. The agency will reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions. The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient. SSA will now have seven Deputy Commissioner level organizations.
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. SSA is committed to ensure this plan has a positive effect on the delivery of Social Security services.
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Charolette K.
I do a lot of Genealogy research using the Social Security Death Index. I want assurance that those records of deceased persons in the regular database being deleted by Musk, are in the SSDI for future research.
Wayne s.
No walking big gest mistake ever sometimes a simple waking question can easily be resolved so eti es need copy can’t be done over phones since is harming million Americans with cuts new rules a
So can’t estimate how long appointment will be more efficient with walkins
Kala
The proposed reductions to Social Security offices and staff are not just bureaucratic changes—they’re a direct attack on the lifelines of millions of elderly and disabled Americans. These cuts risk leaving behind those who rely on in-person support to access critical benefits, navigate complex systems, and secure their dignity. Here’s how these changes will devastate communities:
1. In-Person Assistance Is a Lifeline, Not a Luxury
Many elderly and disabled individuals lack reliable internet access or digital literacy. For them, visiting a Social Security office isn’t optional, it’s the only way to:
Apply for benefits (SSI, SSDI, Medicare).
Resolve errors in payments or eligibility.
Submit sensitive documents securely.
Closing offices forces vulnerable people into a digital maze they cannot navigate, leaving them stranded without income, healthcare, or housing support.
2. Staff Cuts = Longer Waits, More Mistakes
Reducing staff means longer hold times (if you can even get through), delayed application reviews, and rushed interactions. For someone living paycheck-to-paycheck or facing a sudden disability, a two-month wait for a callback could mean eviction, hunger, or untreated medical conditions. Overworked employees are also more likely to make errors. Mistakes that could cost lives.
3. Transportation Barriers Are Already Crushing Communities
Many elderly and disabled Americans cannot drive or afford transportation. Shuttering local offices forces them to travel hours to distant locations, assuming they can even find a ride. Rural and low-income communities will be hit hardest, deepening existing inequities.
4. The Human Touch Matters
Social Security isn’t just about paperwork, it’s about people. Caseworkers provide empathy, clarity, and advocacy for those navigating traumatic life changes (e.g., sudden disability, terminal illness). Automated systems and chatbots can’t comfort a widow struggling to claim survivor benefits or guide a disabled veteran through an appeal.
5. Pushing Vulnerable People Into Scammers’ Crosshairs
Desperation breeds exploitation. Without trusted in-person help, vulnerable individuals may turn to unverified online sources or predatory “consultants” charging fees for basic assistance. Fraud targeting seniors is already a $3 billion/year problem—these cuts will make it worse.
What Can We Do?
Demand Congress protect Social Security offices and staffing budgets.
Advocate for hybrid services: Expand mobile offices, community outreach, and phone support.
Invest in accessibility: Fund transportation aid and digital literacy programs for seniors and disabled Americans.
Amplify stories: Share how Social Security staff have helped you or someone you love.
Dan B.
Thank you for this intelligent and bi-partisan presentation supporting pro-service to those who have contributed so much to this country.
One of those folks.
Cherlyn K.
Thank you. So true.
Linda B.
I have had to contact Social Security, twice in last 2 months due to Changing banks. Once you finally get someone to answer, they are very helpful, but very overworked. The 1st time took 3 hrs on hold in February. In March I had to wait 4 and 3/4 hrs for someone to answer. We are all mostly seniors, and it is ridiculous for us to have to be on hold for that long.
I hope this helps to keep more employees to answer phones.
Daisy M.
This is one of the most ridiculous things that has been done to social security. As a former employee of Social Security, this will have devastating affects on the public. Customer service will be worse than IRS. This makes no common sense to me.
Ursula
My husband applied for SS 3 years ago and the hold on the phone was hours and or got disconnected. Conclusion appreciate the changes and efforts to improve the system. Ultimately it will be of benefit to all of us.
Kathy P.
Thank you so much for this intelligent, comprehensive, evidence-based bi-partisan analysis of our situation, especially in the small towns and rural areas of America.
I live in southwest rural Virginia that is medically underserved, lacks sources of employment that pays a living wage, and lacks public transportation, which makes us part of Appalachia, and I agree 100% with your assessment.
Social Security offices are desperately needed in communities like ours, and as someone who has benefited from their services, I was impressed with the knowledgeable and helpful staff in our local Social Security Administration office that assisted me in taking early retirement so that I could help my elderly mother take care of my father with vascular dementia so that he could remain and die in his own home.
I am presently a caregiver and the POA for my mother whom now has Alzheimer’s. Because of my Social Security benefits that I paid into for all my “professional working” days, I am now working to make sure my mother remains in her home until she dies.
I wish all encounters with government offices could be as pleasant and efficient as our Social Security Administration office.
I am furious that our federal government is targeting some of the least advantaged Americans who have paid all their lives and those that are currently paying into Social Security, just to provide huge tax breaks for the most advantaged people who do not pay their fair share in Social Security taxes nor in federal and state taxes.
As a working class American citizen that has worked since I was 15 years old, that has worked in human services since I was 20 years old, that has always volunteered in my community to make up for lack of support services in our rural areas, and as a senior citizen that depends on my Social Security to pay my living expenses,
👉 I demand Congress protect Social Security offices and staffing budgets.
👉 I advocate for hybrid services: Congress should expand mobile offices, community outreach, and phone support.
👉 I demand Congress invest in accessibility by funding transportation aid and digital literacy programs for seniors and disabled Americans.
Mark K.
We use the online portal and it works well. That being said, what happens to the folks that don’t have access to a computer? When someone needs help from a system that they paid into for decades, they should receive that help without hassle. Closing offices, making it more difficult to get phone assistance is the opposite of what we paid into this system system to receive. I fully understand there is some waste in all government departments. It is the function of government to help people, not make it harder to get the help our taxes pay for. Everyone in the current administration is paid BY US! I suggest you don’t forget that when you decide to make changes to a system that has worked well for 90 years
Mike H.
“has worked well for 90 years” NO it hasn’t! It only worked well as long as there were more workers putting in than taking out. It by all definitions is a Ponzi Scheme.
In 1983 Reagan with the realization that SS was paying out more than it was taking in put a tax on SS benefits for those making over a set income. B Clinton increased that tax to 85%.
Neither tax is indexed to inflation so many married couple too easily are taxed at 85%. Many more are taxed now at 85% because of the mandatory IRA RMD withdrawals. (Another Gov scheme to get our money)
We’re 78 and every year we have to go through the nonsense of calculating what our taxable SS benefits are. We paid taxes on the earned money over the last 54 years. Now we’re paying taxes on the already taxed amount. And they continually call SS an Entitlement.
Irene
It is NOT a Ponzi scheme because the FICA taxes paid go to funding benefits for aged and disabled persons, like your grandparents and parents were
Jack R.
By all definitions it is NOT a Ponzi scheme. You are a rube. In a Ponzi scheme you, as an investor, have no way to know how your money is invested. SSI is completely transparent, and were it not for the intentional underfunding by Republicans, it functions quite well, with little overhead or fraud. A Ponzi scheme is, by definition, fraud.
Chris L.
I’ve paid taxes every year since I was fourteen. Never missed one year or one month or one week. 42 years. I don’t want to hear the word entitlement one more time. I worked hard. I played by the rules. I paid more into it than I’ll ever get out. The only entitled here is Elon. He and a few others think there entitled to steal all they can from the American people. Just realize. You and me brothers and sisters will lose our homes our food … EVERYTHING. understand many of us rely on that check. I rely on that check. I think I earned it over 44 years of paying the premiums! DO WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT!!!!! I’m normally low key but all this stuff is just wrong. Genius my arse. You don’t cut the head off to treat a headache. Thank for your time. Although I know this is as far as this note will ever get.
Mike H.
And you’re going to get that check. Trump has repeated over and over there will be no changes to SS. What Musk is uncovering is the billions over the years SS and Medicare have paid out to dead people, people using fake IDs and Medicare fraud making many rich. People submit claims to Medicare where no service was provided. It’s too easy to cheat Medicare. Read up on it.
ED C.
Correct me if I’m wrong. Let’s say the unthinkable happens, and SSA is privatized. In my head I see the public funds going to a private equity/financial (EF) group to manage. The EF Group will make money on the managerial end of the public funds. How will the funds be allocated. If they are put into the open market and the market gets hit, then what – the funds are no longer available for individuals, retirement, disability, survivors etc. However, the EF Group has already been paid and won’t care.
C. K.
That’s the truth. They don’t care about us. It’s all about the rich getting richer at our expense. At what point does an oligarch like Trump or Musk have enough money? We didn’t create the deficit, the politicians did. I don’t even want to call names but we can go back to 2106.
Susan m.
Please address when Medicare will get more money
Michael L.
“Bloated” tells me this was not written by a true SSA executive. No true SSA person would ever say that as that SSA has been starved of the money to hire replacement and new staff and the money to upgrade systems for years! Before the illegal orders from DOGE to cut SSA staff, the main phone number 800-772-1213 had and still has a recording saying the average time to process a disability claim is 200-230 days. That is between 6-8 months. Now with cuts that number will greatly increase. That means if someone becomes so disabled that they can no longer work, say they work construction and fall off a scaffold, they will have no income for over a year. How will they eat? Pay for their mortgage? Pay for transportation? Medication? etc.? The processing time for Retirement is currently 30 days. How long will it be after these massive cuts? The hold time on the phone has been 120+ minutes for months. If you call in the early morning you might get a 90 minute wait. These con artists want to convince anyone that the SSA staff is bloated? The author of this SSA memo and DOGE are lying. I know this firsthand from the work I do, and I don’t work for the SSA.
Chris L.
You tell um!
Klf
I’m going thru this now been disabled since 07/2023 and they want to force me to work or start a new career instead of them looking at doctors and orthopedic notes they want a packet filled out by a friend im no longer on speaking terms with to make a determination on my case and if the friend doesn’t complete it or say what they want them to say then I’m denied already in appeals work comp barely paid me and ended and settled last year had to wait 5 months to apply and now in 2025 still disabled with many new issues and care is ongoing I think in over qualify but they fighting me on it. I have to become homeless have no help no rental assistance because I can’t work and have no check stubs and I have to go to work further injure myself can’t walk without assistance have paid into social security and medicare both of which they faithlfully remover from my paychecks so they can be paid to do a job they aren’t reporting to the office to do they stay at home remove virtual workers and being paid the same full amount with raises and overtime for barley answering the calls then hangup when it’s a job they don’t want to do or having a bad day. I should qualify for benefits day one of injury regardless of any other assistance because money taken from my paychecks and company pay into insurance for these reasons and to have to wait 5 months then years and multiple appeals and give a lawyer a cut of a low income bare minimum check is ridiculous now we have to give our personal identifying information to another company who can’t be trusted this is insane and too much for a person waiting for assistance to deal with
Dan B.
Thanks for the insight and analysis.
They’re not saying how they intend to provide improvements, they’re just looking for means by which they can reduce expenditures far enough to justify a massive tax cut extension without creating extraordinary budget deficits. Who benefits from that motivation, not SSA beneficiaries.
Daisy M.
You’re right.
Michael L.
Since before the illegally ordered DOGE cuts the SSA office had a recording saying that the average processing time for disability applications was between 200-230 days. That was before any cuts. Bloated???? I think not. Telephone hold times prior to cuts for the main social security number have been pretty steady at 120 minutes plus. On a good day we might see 90. I am an interpreter who makes multiple calls to the SSA every week so I have firsthand experience with the fact that they have been anything but bloated. Because of Republican mismanagement they have been living on a starvation budget and unable to fill positions, unable to update systems for years. Every time a Democrat gets in office they play catchup trying to fix the budget damage from their Republican predecessor so staffing levels are never met and new systems are never caught up to needs. So,
Harry E.
Neither party made the changes to support Social Security stay solvent. Both are to blame. That said, the recent decisions by the the SS administration clearly are made to made it harder to get help, get benefits, and insure that SS will fail so it can be privatized and reduced. The ultra rich of both sides are wanting to get their hands on the money. There three political parties, Democrats, Republicans and the Very Rich.