Trump’s Social Security Shakeup: Here’s What to Know

Customer service at the Social Security Administration has been bad for years—and now it’s getting worse.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative is leading a President Donald Trump administration cutback of 7,000 SSA staffers—roughly 12% of the workforce—through voluntary separation or firings.

Over the past decade, chronic underfunding by Congress of the SSA’s administrative budget has already pushed the size of its workforce down to roughly 57,000 versus nearly 68,000 in 2010. This comes at a time when the SSA’s workload is rising as the nation ages and more people apply for benefits.

I’ve written often about the need to increase Social Security’s administrative budget. In 2023, combined administrative spending for the retirement and disability programs equaled just 0.4% of benefit outlays. Along with higher funding, the agency needs budget stability and predictability so that it can hire and plan to address its service shortcomings.

Experts who follow the agency closely agree that the agency is already in a crisis—and we haven’t hit bottom yet. It’s not just the loss of staff, but expertise—and that’s a view held by both Republicans (outside the Trump administration) and Democrats.

“This is not going well, and it’s going to get worse,” said former SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue during a recent panel discussion on the agency’s condition convened by the National Academy of Social Insurance.

The Washington Post has reported that Social Security is “breaking down,” citing crashes of the agency’s website, understaffed field offices, and long waits to talk to representatives on the toll-free line that can last hours—or end with dropped calls. The New York Times reports that long lines of people seeking help at field offices have been growing and that toll-free line traffic has jumped 30%, increasing wait times and disconnects.

What’s Going On at the Social Security Administration?

The uncertainty about Social Security’s operations makes it difficult to predict exactly where things are headed. For example, initial DOGE actions pegged dozens of field offices for closure. The SSA has denied that this is the case, but The Wall Street Journal recently reported that an internal SSA memo calls for further reductions in the agency’s “footprint.” And a plan to limit the operation of the agency’s toll-free phone line was ditched just this week.

Currently, it looks like the changes at the SSA will have the largest impact on Americans who are least equipped to deal with it. That includes low-income seniors, disabled people, and others without access to computers or smartphones. Disability applications are already very challenging, with wait times of approximately eight months on initial claim decisions. In fiscal 2023, 30,000 people died while waiting for a decision on disability benefits—a number that will increase as the problems at the SSA worsen.

And all of this is especially frightening for people who rely on Social Security for all or most of their income.

If you need to do business with the Social Security Administration, here are some suggestions on how to navigate the current chaos.

Get Your Social Security Account Online

Social Security has been urging the public for years to do business with the agency online—and if there ever was a good time to set up an account on the SSA website, this is it.

The SSA had announced plans to stop processing benefit claims through its toll-free phone line unless applicants provide separate proof of identity. Just this week, the administration backed off of that plan.

About 40% of Social Security benefit claim intakes currently occur through the toll-free line, and wait times to speak with an agent have been soaring. These days, you also need an appointment in advance to visit a field office—and expect to hear dates weeks in the future. Doing that will require getting through to the toll-free line, although it’s sometimes possible to reach an SSA staffer by phone in your local field office.

Another reason to log on to the SSA website: It gives you access to a statement that projects your future benefits. That’s helpful because SSA has stopped mailing out annual benefit statements, except for individuals aged 60 or older who haven’t set up an online account. For most people, the only way to access the statement is online.

Once you establish your account, download your statement and print it out for safekeeping. The statement includes not only your projected benefit but also your entire career earnings history. This is a critical set of numbers, as it is used to determine your benefit level. If possible, review the earnings history for accuracy; you can contact the SSA to request corrections for any errors.

You can apply for Social Security or Medicare benefits through the website. This will be the best way to transact most regular business with Social Security for the foreseeable future.

It’s also worth noting that there is no need to verify or prove your identity if you are already receiving benefits. “Many current beneficiaries have been worrying that they need to proactively prove who they are—and they don’t,” says Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former SSA official.

Know How to Navigate Fraud Concerns

The Trump administration is justifying the shakeup of the SSA by citing concerns about massive fraud against the agency in the form of improper or stolen benefit payments.

Studies of fraud by the SSA’s independent Office of the Inspector General have found very small amounts of fraudulent benefit payouts, but individuals have good reason to protect themselves from scammers and identity theft.

Here again, setting up an online account is a good proactive measure. Doing so “claims” your identity and Social Security number with the agency, making it more difficult for a scammer to pose as you.

The agency houses sensitive data on nearly every American (living and dead), including medical and financial records. The risks include the theft of not only sensitive identity data but also actual benefits. Nearly all Social Security benefits are now paid electronically, and thieves can redirect electronic payments to their own accounts.

There’s no evidence that this type of fraud is widespread. The government’s research found that from 2015 to 2022, the SSA paid out almost $8.6 trillion in benefits and that less than 1% of that was in improper payments, mostly to living people.

Though this is a marginal amount, the SSA has advised the public that the best way to avoid problems is to create an account to “take away the risk of someone else trying to create one in your name, even if they obtain your Social Security number.”

Still, the recent chaos at the SSA has provided a new opening for scammers. A Social Security official told a group of advocates for disabled and retired people that “fraudsters are trying to take advantage of this confusion,” according to The Washington Post.

Social Security scams can come in the form of phone calls, emails, text messages, or social-media outreach. It’s rare for Social Security to proactively reach out to beneficiaries, although it will do so if the agency is actively transacting business with you. That usually also will involve an official letter via the mail.

If you aren’t transacting business with the agency (filing a claim or paperwork or changing something related to your benefits), don’t respond to text messages purporting to be coming from SSA. (Here’s an agency FAQ page on identity proof and outreach procedures.)

This SSA page offers guidance on how to detect and avoid scams. And this SSA page offers a list of forms of identification that the SSA accepts in various situations.

Apply Early for Social Security and Medicare

If you are applying for Social Security or Medicare, file paperwork several months ahead of your desired start date for benefits. Both applications give you the opportunity to specify the date when you want benefits to begin.

This is a good way to minimize the risk of a gap in the start of Social Security income or Medicare health insurance.

Will Trump Cut Social Security Benefits?

There’s been no indication yet that the Trump administration will try to cut Social Security benefits. The president is on the record stating that benefits won’t be touched, and any changes would require an act of Congress.

As I’ve noted, Social Security’s combined retirement and disability trust funds are on track to be depleted in 2035. If we reach that point without taking action, there will be an across-the-board benefit cut of roughly 20% for all current and future beneficiaries.

That means Social Security will need to be “touched” at some point if that cut is to be averted. That can be done through tax hikes, benefit cuts, or some combination of the two. Congress also could decide to inject general revenue into the program to keep benefits at the current level—in other words, avert insolvency by borrowing money.

In the meantime, some argue that cutting staff that takes appointments, answers calls, and processes applications is tantamount to a benefit cut.

“In order to receive a benefit, you first need to have the people there who are able to give you the benefit—it doesn’t happen automatically,” Romig says. “You have to apply, someone has to verify that you’re eligible, and someone needs to pay the benefit. If the SSA staff is decimated, people are going to struggle to access the benefits that they have earned. It’s that simple.”