SSA (Social Security Administration) is facing one of the worst crises in decades. Since the Trump administration cut staff in 46 states and in Washington D.C., thousands of people (mostly retirees and vulnerable citizens) are suffering serious delays in receiving what they are owed every month. There are those who have been waiting months for a payment that is literally the only thing they have to survive, and it does not seem that anything is going to improve…

Less staff, more chaos

All started last February, when the Government decided to cut 12% of the staff of the Social Security Administration (SSA). We are talking about around 7,000 fewer workers!

The cut was carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency created and led by Elon Musk to eliminate the “superfluous expenses” of the SSA. Superfluous expenses, yep.

The result has been what anyone could imagine: collapsed offices, unanswered calls, endless lines, and management that cannot cope. There are workers who directly say they cannot take it anymore. That they cannot keep up.

Retirees waiting months…

Jessica LaPointe, president of the AFGE Council 220 union, has publicly denounced it, there are elderly people waiting for months to receive a single payment. People who have already contributed their whole lives and now cannot pay either rent or medicines because the administration decided to “adjust” staff.

This affects thousands of people across the country. Every day that passes without them being paid is another day of anguish and uncertainty. There is no efficiency that makes up for that.

Almost the whole country is affected

The Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) details that between March 2024 and March 2025, 46 states lost many workers in their Social Security offices. Only two states remained stable, and Nebraska and Alaska together added seven new employees, which does not help much in the general context:

Wyoming (17% less), Montana (14%), West Virginia and Hawaii (11% each), and New Mexico (10%).

But,  rural areas and places with high indigenous populations are suffering most. There, there are not many offices or good internet access either. That is, if it was already complicated to do a procedure before, now it is directly a wall.

And this already goes beyond a management problem, it has now become a social problem. A system that leaves behind those who most need help.

Savings or just abandonment?

From DOGE they defended the cuts saying they seek to improve efficiency and reduce costs. But what is being seen in the offices has nothing efficient about it. Neither for the employees, who cannot cope, nor for the users, who are left without answers.

The question is that this “savings” are  worth or not, because if it means leaving thousands of people without their payment, maybe it is not the way. Are we really talking about efficiency when what there is lack of protection?

This crisis has made something clear: Social Security cannot be sustained with fewer hands and more pressure, in an increasingly aging population. It is not just about numbers or cuts, it is about people!! People who have spent a lifetime contributing to the system and now, when they need it most, are left stranded.