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 The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient.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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Doug
Too much Trump in the “new” SSA. Too much Instagram. Too much movement. Not enough forethought.
It was the best gov’t agency I’ve had. Now you’re fixing what ain’t broke?
When Musk runs, in four years, we’ll hear the same bull.
JoL
He isn’t allowed to be president as he was born in South Africa. Of course, with this Supreme Court, who knows….
Janine C.
So the Musk shit show begins
Sam
God bless the Social Security Workers of American. You are UNDER staffed and Over worked. Thank you for all you have done for the seniors of America and I wish I had the ability to help you as you have helped me.
HarveyK
How is this reducing government expenses? The workers will probably be able to collect unemployment monies.
Richard H.
Question :
Will this new reorganizing interfere with monthly SSN payments ?
A lot of us are concerned about this , as this is what most of solely rely on every month.
Gerri B.
So happy efficiency is going to be a priority. This is wonderful news.
Amanda
You clearly know absolutely nothing about this subject, Gerri.
Liz T.
Gerri writes like a bot.
S
It sounds as if who ever wrote this had a gun pointed at their head.
David J.
With these efficiencies, I hope your operations becomes more efficient. Having to wait hours to talk to someone is not acceptable.
Reality C.
Haha. Clueless. I hope you like wait times and disgruntled employees. Spread the ones left doing all the work even thinner. I don’t think you are going to receive faster service with a sunnier disposition.
Barbara
How can it become more efficient with less employees? The wait times will be longer. The claims, Medicare, change of direct deposit, resolving clients problems, and so many other workloads will take longer to be processed.
Marilyn A.
I’ve been on hold for 2 hours & 20 minutes to talk to a representative because my Part B payments have been deactivated.
Tell me how reducing staff is going to help with that!
Brian B.
The numbers sound somewhat arbitrary. Was a study done to ascertain the proper staffing levels or is this more of the same from the Trump administration, cut staff and will worry later whether we’re properly staffed.
Why only 4 regional offices? Does that mean people have to travel further for in person consultations. Again, how did you come up with 4 regional offices? was a study done to ascertain the proper balance of offices?
It will be interesting to see if in a couple of months certain things aren’t done because you fired the person(s) who know how to do it and the people left have no idea.
Arlene G.
In my humble opinion the current administration doesn’t care about efficiency, if they did they would know this isn’t an efficient process. They want chaos and this plan to cut the staff will certainly be the cause. Elederly people will die of hunger or lost medical care. Their kids will be enraged – along with the general public because there has still been no answer to inflation. A civil war will break out and elections will not be held. Trump remains King, I mean in power, and Democracy is lost.