02.28.25

FACT SHEET: Trump and Musk’s Plot to Make It Harder for Americans to Get Their Social Security Benefits

Trump admin plans to gut Social Security Administration

 “Massive” staffing reductions planned at an already severely understaffed agency; 90% of SSA staff work across the country outside of the agency’s headquarters in Baltimore

DOGE touts coming closures of field offices around the country

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, warned of the Trump administration’s plans to gut the Social Security Administration (SSA)–and to make it harder for Americans who’ve paid into Social Security to get the benefits they have earned.

In a statement, Senator Murray said:

“People need help getting Social Security at some of the most vulnerable points in their lives—whether that’s the death of a spouse, the onset of a disability, or the loss of income that comes with retirement. Americans pay into Social Security their entire lives–it’s a promise they should be able to count on.

“But Trump and Elon are decimating the Social Security Administration, and without that staff, there will be people who can’t get their benefits—period. 

“Trump and Musk will cause wait times to soar for seniors calling in to sort out issues with their benefits. They will force Americans in rural communities to drive hours to get the help they are owed, and their reckless plans will cheat Americans out of the benefits they have earned. 

“Americans need to be able to talk to real people, often in person, to make sure they get their Social Security check—but Elon wants to shutter field offices people count on to apply for benefits, get a new Social Security card, and talk to someone who can help.

“Make no mistake: Trump and Elon are breaking Social Security to enrich themselves. It’s seniors who will pay the price.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

Trump and Musk’s actions to gut SSA will make it harder for Americans who have spent their lives paying into Social Security to get the benefits they have earned–and to get the help accessing those benefits they need. 

Trump and Musk plan to demolish SSA and make it much harder for Americans to get answers about their benefits, file for benefits, get a new Social Security card, and much more.

Each year, SSA:

  • Receives 80 million calls to its 1-800 number.
  • Receives 57 million calls to its 1,200 field offices nationwide.
  • Receives 30 million visitors to its 1,200 field offices.
  • Processes 9 million applications for benefits.

Without adequate customer service provided by SSA, Americans will be cheated out of receiving the benefits they have earned.

FIRING STAFF & ERODING SERVICE FOR BENEFICIARIES

On Thursday, the Social Security Administration announced it will “soon implement agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions.”

Reports indicate SSA may eliminate up to 50% of its workforce in what the agency calls “massive reorganizations,” and SSA has now offered all employees incentives to leave the agency.

The vast majority of SSA’s 57,000 employees nationwide directly serve Americans who’ve paid into Social Security by:

  • Assisting tens of millions of Americans in field offices across the country;
  • Assisting beneficiaries over the phone;
  • Processing retirement, survivors, and disability benefits; 
  • Much more.

90% of SSA staff work across the country outside of the agency’s headquarters. SSA staff who are not providing direct service support perform critical work that keeps the agency and Social Security system operational, including supporting SSA’s IT infrastructure.

SSA staff ensure 73 million Americans get their Social Security benefits each month–which is more beneficiaries than ever before. They do so even though SSA’s 57,000 staff level is already at the lowest level in 50 years.

Gutting SSA’s workforce will make it significantly harder for Americans to get the benefits they have earned–and much harder to get the help they need.

  • SSA is already very short-staffed. There is simply no way to significantly reduce staff further without seriously jeopardizing customer service for tens of millions of Americans.
  • Wait times to get help on the phone will inevitably increase. 
  • Processing times for retirement and disability benefits will significantly worsen.

Customer service at SSA has long suffered from historically low staffing levels and inadequate discretionary funding, which Democrats have pushed to increase each year while congressional Republicans push to cut non-defense funding. 

Trump and Musk are working to guarantee that customer service gets substantially worse–if not impossible to access–for the American people who need help from SSA.

  • Currently, fewer than 40% of people who call SSA seeking to speak to a Social Security agent are able to get through to talk to someone. 
    • The average time someone waits to talk to someone on SSA’s 1-800 number is 30 minutes, but that excludes people who hang up because the wait is too long.  
    • This wait will increase under Trump and Musk’s plans.
  • It now takes on average 240 days to process a disability claim–up from the recent historical average of approximately 110 days. 
    • This wait will increase under Trump and Musk’s plans. 
    • Last year, an estimated 30,000 Americans died while waiting on a decision for their disability benefits.

Trump and Musk are working to erode customer service provided by SSA–service that Americans have earned–despite the fact that SSA’s administrative expenses already represent less than 1% of total benefits paid.

Their raze and burn plans have already created an exodus of senior leadership across SSA’s regional offices–jeopardizing SSA’s efforts to improve service for Americans. Just today, SSA announced a bevy of additional departures of senior SSA leadership.

Breakdowns of the number of Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance beneficiaries by state and county are available HERE. 

Breakdowns of the number of Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries are available HERE.

SHUTTERING OFFICES & FORCING BENEFICIARIES TO DRIVE HOURS

SSA has 1,200 field offices in communities all across the country that help Americans:

  • Apply to receive Social Security and Medicare benefits.
  • Apply to receive Supplemental Security Income and SNAP.
  • Get or replace a Social Security card.
  • Get assistance and address problems with benefits.

In 2023, SSA field offices had nearly 120,000 Americans visit per day.

Elon Musk and his DOGE crew are eager to close SSA field offices across the country that Americans count on. DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” lists dozens of SSA field offices they have or will terminate leases for.

Closing field offices will force people to drive hours farther to get the basic services they are entitled to. For many–particularly beneficiaries who are disabled or who live in rural areas–the closures could mean losing out on assistance from SSA–and even benefits altogether.

A full list of SSA’s roughly 1,200 field offices is available HERE. A map is available HERE.

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