DOGE’s Budget Cuts Threaten Social Security Services
One in five Americans rely on benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA), and those 65 and older receive at least 90 percent of their income form Social Security. However, the agency getting those benefits into bank accounts to buy groceries and pay bills is now under attack, which raises concerns for beneficiaries at risk of dangerous disruptions and delays.
President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to establish the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE is the reorganized and renamed version of an existing unit within the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) tasked with “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is leading the charge with DOGE, previously characterized Social Security as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time, claiming that the program is riddled with fraud and waste. Some experts have stated that the levels of fraud within the Social Security system are not as prominent as the Trump Administration says.
Union leaders are reporting that Social Security is in a “death spiral” as cuts continue from the Trump Administration. Assaults on the SSA threaten Americans’ ability to access the benefits they rely on to get by.
DOGE Cut Impacts on Social Security:
- Staffing Cuts
The SSA announced they will cut approximately 7,000 jobs, equating to a 12 percent reduction in the agency’s staffing. This reduction aims to streamline operations but has led to longer wait times and strained customer service since dozens of offices around the country will be closing. Without necessary staff and infrastructure, Social Security and disability checks could be delayed or missed, putting millions of Americans at dire risk. Additionally, these closures of six of its 10 regional offices and the shutdown of the Office of Transformation have raised major concerns about accessibility, especially for rural beneficiaries. The SSA indicates the “massive reorganizations” would lead to “abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing.”
The move has been criticized by Rich Couture, President of American Federation of Government Employees’ SSA committee, which represents more than 42,000 Social Security workers.
Couture expressed concern that the cutbacks are creating a “negative feedback loop,” in which the departure of employees increases the workload on those who remain, in turn lowering morale and prompting even more to leave “until the agency ends up in a death spiral with staffing, inducing office closures.”
Cutbacks have already affected all agency personnel, comprising critical and difficult-to-replace programmers and cybersecurity experts. Rumors that DOGE staff started bullying employees, threatening layoffs, and offering buyouts has led to chaos. Meanwhile, the DOGE-friendly acting commissioner has instituted hiring and overtime freezes and even threatened to shut down operations.
- Harder to Access Benefits
Reducing the number of workers to save large sums money essentially makes it harder for people to access benefits they’ve earned. Perhaps are the real goals behind DOGE attacks on Social Security are such backdoor benefit cuts, making a popular government program look bad. Former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley warned that these cuts could lead to significant disruptions, including potential delays or interruptions in benefit payments within the next 30 to 90 days. “DOGE-led cuts to an already skeletal agency may lead to “system collapse and an interruption of benefits.” He advises beneficiaries to prepare for possible challenges in accessing services.
Delays or interruptions to payment schedules could be catastrophic for seniors and those with disabilities that are dependent on receiving that income in order to pay for food and living expenses. 42 percent of Americans 65 and older reported in a January 2025 survey, “I would not be able to afford the basics, such as food, clothing, or housing [without Social Security retirement benefits].”
Reducing staff further will only make these dangerous delays longer and more harmful to those dependent on government benefits.
- Disability Benefit Concerns
Before DOGE was implemented, wait times for disability claims and benefits were at an all-time high. Disability determination is a complex process requiring copious documentation, to which there were reports of six month wait times for over a million of applicants cases to get approved or denied. Delays are only going to increase with more staffing cuts for those trusting benefits administered by the SSA through either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or both.
SSDI recipients can’t work due to their disability, while others work limited hours, only earning a limited amount without forfeiting their benefits. For SSI claimants, even if or when they are able to work, they can only hold a few thousand dollars in gross assets without losing their benefits, subject to limited exceptions, making it essentially impossible to save.
Disabled claimants are particularly affected by field office closings because office closures exacerbate mobility and other obstacles to accessing disability benefits. In fact, office closures lead to a 13% drop in the number of people receiving disability benefits in the affected area, according to research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
One source of ill-advised “savings” for the SSA is through freezing hiring and reducing overtime for staff in Disability Determination Services (DDS), which is particularly troublingly. State-run, but federally funded offices are an essential step in the disability review process. Keeping DDS offices staffed in the face of budget constraints and high attrition has been one of the biggest challenges in speeding up the processing of disability claims; now the new restrictions on capacity will only take the situation from bad to worse.
Disability benefits lead to the trail of accessing health insurance. SSI recipients qualify for Medicaid instantly, while SSDI receivers qualify for Medicare after two years. Thus, these longer wait periods means lengthier delays to access coverage, therefore, applicants awaiting an answer on disability benefits often lack health insurance in the interim, putting their care and health at risk.
- Customer Service Implications
If staffing slashes are made to the extent expected, depending on customer service to help those needing answers to their pressing questions means long wait times, or never reaching a human to get those responses. If there is not enough workers to aid in addressing problems, updating information, or able to reply to questions in a timely manner, immense delays in claimants getting their benefits started will hit hard.
Each year, Social Security receives tens of millions of calls to its toll-free phone number. High wait times are rising through the roof and prompt many more calls to go unanswered altogether, making it harder to get assistance or information out of the thin workforce. The Washington Post reports: “Wait times for basic phone service have grown, in some cases to hours, according to some [SSA] employees.” If more office closures occur, the ability to access support via the 800 number would only become more significant since in-person support will be less accessible.
DOGE attacks on the Social Security Administration have been extremely damaging, and some of the destruction may be very difficult to reverse. But keep in mind that in its 89-year history, Social Security has never missed a payment. It would be political suicide for the Trump Administration and Republican Party to allow this to happen under their watch, despite the Trump Administration, with DOGE’s help, is making it complicated for people to claim benefits in the first place, harming participants and unfairly tarnishing Social Security’s reputation.
If you are applying for disability benefits, Lowery Law Group is experienced in handling these cases. Contact Lowery Law Group at info@lowerylegal.com or call (843) 991-0733 for a free consultation regarding your claim.