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 The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient.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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Rose
It will be the death of any political party to cut your benefits or delay checks. Stop buying into these fabricated speculations the media and opposing politicians put out. Unless you like a little drama by being part of a story.
Brenda
The way I see it is Trump is on his vendetta to prove his self appointed righteousness. For those who voted him in good luck. For those who didn’t pay into ss but are now getting a big check I wonder where you will spend it for the food you aren’t going to be able to buy. To all who will be hurt or have been hurt I pray for you. I feel sorry for all who will suffer and die for the spoiled child the goon and the goodies of this administration. I will also pray for our freedom and the hope that he will not be allowed a third term. Wake up people and save America!
Melinda C.
That’s all good and wonderful if we still continue getting our SSA checks on time and they don’t cut benefits to put money in billionaires pockets. They’ll be a lot of elderly on the street!
Katherine E.
I agree. Social security is my only income, and medicare for medical needs. I also will be homeless. I am very concerned and right now not convinced in it’s immediate future. How can government touch it when it is the people that fund it, not the government.
Charlene N.
The billionaires in government have already been lining their pockets with our money for years. I hope this puts a stop to it. The working people paid this money in and it should be used for absolutely nothing other than paying back those that paid in. If your pet projects need money too bad.
Cindi N.
I’ve been reading my bible a lot lately. The world is falling apart. What I see is Christ coming. Trump surely on anti Christ side. All this is so they can control all we have and do so we follow. As for me I’m into Christ. I will not bow down to Trump or any body else but Christ.
Praying every citizens struggle is eased with God’s loving care.
Barbara A.
Amen 🙏
John
In 1995, there were 43 million Americans on Social Security with 62 thousand Social Security employees serving them.
The 2025 goal of this administration is to reduce the current 57 thousand Social Security employees down to 50,000, serving the 2024 total of Americans on Social Security of 68 million Americans. Yeah sure, that’ll work well. They should just admit they want to destroy Social Security.
Marilyn H.
Pisces people every single day of my life I work in the medical field and they are not disabled at all so I don’t know how everybody climbs a back injury everybody claims this and claims that drunks get disability at drug addicts get disability what’s wrong with this system they need to fix it and I’m glad it’s been fixed it should be more don’t take away from the only give the elderly more money if you disabled fine you should be checked every other month and this back injury you can’t detect a back injury so anybody can play the game and a lot of people do
Ron W.
One of the most unfortunate consequences will be the loss of experience and expertise. Government is a different animal than private business. It takes years to cultivate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be effective and efficient with these complex benefits and payment programs. I know firsthand as a retired civil servant.
C. M.
The social security is really going to be struggling since Fuhrer Trump decided to deport millions of immigrants who pay unto it. Most people do not know this. In 2022, 98 billion dollars went into social security just from undocumented immigrants.
From New York Times:
“How Unauthorized Immigrants Help Finance Social Security Benefits
Undocumented workers often pay taxes that help fund programs like Social Security — even if they can’t collect from them in the future.”
NANCY
I’m not scared of Trump or his Zombie chain saw freak!!! Good Lord what has happened to our country!!! Stop being afraid, there is more of us !!! They want us cowering and remaining quiet! QUIET TIME is OVER! I paid into SS, IT IS MINE!!! SS office needs to be giving us updated info-
PROTEST, EMAIL, CALL AND ORGANIZE IN YOUR COMMUNITIES!
DON’T BECOME HATEFUL- THAT WON’T HELP BRING IN THOSE THAT MAYBE HAVE CHANGED MINDS- WE CAN DO THIS!!😊
Carol E.
PEOPLE START CALLING AROUND FOR ATTORNEY FOR CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR EACH OF US WHO SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO GET OUR MONEY BACK W ROI. THEN THEY CAN DO WHATEVER BUT I WANT MY FORCED CONTRIBUTIONS BACK WE MUST START FIGHTING THIS NOW ALTHOUGH TRUMP IS LAWLESS… WE HAVE TO GET AGGRESSIVE DO U UNDERSTAND NO PLEADING BUT DEMANDING PEOPLE.
Rose
Good to hear SS is modernizing. Comm Dudek has done a great job. Hope he gets a great position after perm commissioner sworn in.
Elise S.
Since 2010 through the proposed 2025 changes, the SSA budget has been reduced by 40% while the workload has increased by 20%. In what universe does this make sense?
The arbitrary workforce reductions by eliminating probationary and DEI employees without notice or any review of audits or consideration of budget recommendations, or availability of funds to pay staff to leave, or employee performance, labor contracts and labor laws is a recipe for disaster.
This scorched earth approach goes against accepted methods used by both business and government organizations. Balancing resources with demands for service requires time to review options, costs of implementation and the effect on the quality and timeliness of service, as well as the effects on other interconnected agencies, divisions, and departments.
I don’t know that a cadre of 20+ year olds have the knowledge necessary to understand how government functions, what “fund” accounting is, how to conduct a comprehensive review of any federal agency, or that budgetary changes should be processed through the Office of Management and Budget for review by Congress.