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 The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient.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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Dan R.
This announcement of workforce reduction is music to a musician’s ears. Thank you for straightforward explanation. I pray this will benefit our nation and the Social Security trust.
Jo L.
And how would it do that? How would a reduction in work force make it more beneficial? You do realize this reduction, as well as the others, is to gather and make up the money for the 4 TILLION tax cut for the super wealthy? I think you might want to do some homework on the subject.
Kathy S.
EXACTLY!!
Amanda
You clearly know nothing about this subject, Dan.
CATHERINE H.
I am a senior citizen and a taxpayer and the costs of my Medicare and prescription programs just went up! Also, I have no doubt that there were some people not doing their jobs, but the problem is that YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE IN THE CRITICAL JOBS THAT SERVE MEDICARE RECIPIENTS. Its takes weeks or even months to get responses to Medicare applications, for example. People should be reassigned, not fired. Obviously who ever is making these decisions has never been on Medicare or relied on SSA to pay for the cost of their medications. Could you please get someone who knows something to look at where the real problems are rather than assume they know and therefore make it all about the number of employees rather than what needs to be done to make government and SSA more responsive?
Barbara
The employees are doing their job. Have you ever worked for Social Security? The workloads are overwhelming and reducing the workers will only hurt the American public. Medicare is not the only workload.
Micheal P.
The system is antiquated. Their computer systems if updated by qualified techs from the 1990’s systems they use would make process easy and fast.
Just think how efficient Google is. You can get an instant answer.
Now compare to the 57,000 people in Social Security. Who thinks those people are going to be able to answer calls and process orders as efficiently as the Ai systems.
Systems that you can order a new part for your dishwasher and get delivered in a few days. But, if those sales depended on a workforce labor pool to answer, process would take a very long time.
Arlene G.
Makes sense to me. When will the AI system be in place? Doesn’t it need to be tested and validated? Doesn’t it make sense to do that before you let people go who have the expertise and knitting test and validate the system, or make the use cases in the first place?
Arlene G.
And I pray that your prayers will will keep SS checks going to the millions of Americans that need this money.
Joseph M.
Catherine you are exactly right. Central office is bloated with people who really think they are productive. They are not! Management heavy! I worked there. When i was first hired i thought the same as you, put these people out in the field to reduce the wait time for customers. Also Federal workers have an arrogance that they are too important to be replaced. Everyone is replaceable.
Bhaskar S.
That is Elon Musk has promised to do. Hope he gets it right.
Laura
In Cali, for long term disability, you’ll never get a person on your phone line; 2 yrs. The voice prompt says it takes 200-230 days for processing. I’ve been waiting over 700. I have the local San Diego persons number and was so excited to get the extension to the person. For 3 months I’ve left a message for this person nearly everyday, zero response
S.S.
We’re sorry to hear about your experience, Laura. We ask for your patience during busy periods. Our National 800 number is available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Keep in mind that wait times to speak to a representative are typically shorter in the morning, later in the week, and later in the month. You can submit feedback by visiting our Contact Social Security webpage. Once there, select the “Email Us” link. This will take you to the “Email A Question to our Support Team” form, where you can complete and submit a compliment, complaint, or suggestion. We hope this information is helpful.
John
End The Cap on Social Security taxes and tax all income on everyone, not just those earning $176,000 or less! Geeez!
Susan F.
YES!!
Holly G.
This is absolute garbage. SSA is not “bloated,” nor does it have too many field offices.
SSA should be hiring MORE staff and establishing MORE offices in order to serve the public properly.
SSA administration should be ashamed of this chainsaw approach to governance.
CCG
We’re screwed…
Chris
Agree. Hopefully, someone will be able to stop musk & trump’s madness.
Justina
Im tired of waiting for that person to step up. It ain’t happening, so it’s got to be us saving ourselves. I think the townhalls have helped, although how long until they refuse to meet angry constituents? If you can, please contact your congressional electeds to tell them to stop the looting of money and data. The calls and messages seemed to help in the beginning of this nightmare.
This is our money, our agency, our country. We the people are their bosses, and they need to answer to us.
Mary T.
As someone who worked for change in complex organizations as a profession for years, I always found it necessary to listen and learn before chopping and frightening those impacted. Most seniors think Social Security and Medicare work very well considering the sizes of the operations. Well, regardless of the administration in the White House. It’s hard to imagine that you’ve had the time to do either and hard to imagine this won’t alter an agency that generally works very well for seniors. Making a splash isn’t usually the way to sustainable and meaningful change or gain credibility.
CCG
Thank you, Mary. As a black belt six sigma with MS in Quality Systems Management, I couldn’t agree more. I am presently suffering miserably from an unemployment commission error dating 4 years and still no resolution that has spilled over to SS and I cannot get anyone’s attention. I’m $10K down in unemployment money and losing $900/month SS for the rest of my life! All a result of one employee not doing their due diligence during COVID.
THERE’S GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY!!
Angela M.
Absolutely. How about partnering up with the experts on the inside of S.S.A. ( like the former S.S. Administrator) and learn as much as possible before making drastic changes and collapsing the infrastructure?
Yes, some of us have fears for the people that probably need benefits the most.
As much as we care for our own situations, we also care for others.
Gary L.
Will this impact the local SS offices? That’s where I go for answers because hold times at the 800 number are 2 hours or more. I don’t see how reducing the SS workforce is going to help all of us seniors 🙁
David
@Gary All Social Security offices are appointment only, you will have to call either way. You can no longer walk in and wait for your number to be called. This change started in early January, 2025.
Patrick G.
If this means that I will have to wait longer in line for customer service – for example for more than an hour – I will not support this initiative. Why are you punishing tax-paying American citizens and who told you to call the system “bloated?”
Jim G.
You can’t run the U.S. government like a failed civilian business, which the president has experience in doing. I wish the SSA luck with the new structure.
Amanda
You clearly have no experience in this field, Jim. But thanks for the meaningless comparison.
Arlene G.
It’s is a meaningless comparison so why is this administration trying to run a government agency like a for-profit business? This is a serious question.
Tim P.
Let’s Get rid of the assholes giving tax breaks to billionaires instead. Why hurt the poor of American just to ass kiss the rich?
Catherine H.
Yes, Tim, exactly. What do the people making these cuts know about Medicare or Medicaid? Have they ever relied on these programs for their health and medications and lives? There are lots of government inefficiencies but if they really cared they would immediately know it’s not about too many employees, it’s about not enough hard working people in the right places.
Diane B.
💯💯💯
Regina Q.
Sooo true, sir.
Reeba
Yep.
Justina
How about they cut salaries and staff in congress and the Whitehouse. Eliminate all their perks and let the prez pay for his own security and golf expeditions?