Feeling insecure about the state of Social Security? If so, you’re not alone. A recent study from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 7 out of 10 people not yet retired are concerned that Social Security won’t be there for them when they need it. For those who already rely on Social Security for an important, if not prime, source of income during their retirement years, there has been much unsettling news over the past several months to undermine confidence that the Social Security Administration is capable and able to meet the financial and privacy needs of beneficiaries. There are many problems currently plaguing Social Security, ranging from staffing and computer issues to the broader financial integrity of the system as a whole. There are also many myths about what ails the system, such as whether the problem is our aging society, fewer workers contributing to the system, or claims of waste or fraud. Many simply don’t understand how the system was designed and how it’s supposed to work- and why we have such serious problems at this point. For a good, non-political overview of Social Security, how it’s financed, how claims are paid, and how fair the system is, grab your Social Security card and click here.

So let’s highlight some recently revealed problems that may affect your questions, benefits, and data. First, regarding the ongoing problems of staffing at Social Security field offices and response times for phone calls, there have been mixed and conflicting reports depending on the source of information. Axios recently reported that Social Security field offices have lost an estimated 20% of their staff in 2025. There are reports of remaining staff buckling under the stress and strain of trying to make up for lost colleagues, and response times to questions and the setting of appointments are often hampered by serious delays. NPR reported that calls were being rerouted to staffers in field offices unable to handle the specific case in question, and CNN reported that agency response times provided by administrators are not actually representative of the time it takes to reach an agent by phone.  Moreover, a lot of the previously public data about response times and customer service has now been removed from the Social Security website. The new head of Social Security, Frank Bisignano, has pushed back on these reports, touting technological advances that he states have helped streamline the system and make it more efficient and responsive. In particular, Kaiser Health News recently reported on his promotion of AI chatbots to respond to customer queries as an example of new tech solutions for beneficiaries. However, this same news report describes a system that was put on hold by the previous administration because the kinks had not yet been worked out, and, in fact, there have been reports of glitches and problems with the use of these chatbots. There are also questions as to whether or not this technology can replace the expertise and experience possessed by the thousands of staff who left the Social Security Administration over the past year.

There have also been serious allegations raised about the security of personal data held by the Social Security Administration. As you likely know, within data files at Social Security are the personal information on all beneficiaries, including your name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number- data very valuable to criminals and others with malevolent intentions. Recent revelations by a Social Security whistleblower suggest that this data may now reside on insecure servers in the cloud, moved there by staff from the government DOGE operations. Specifically, what whistleblower Charles Borges (formerly the agency’s chief data officer) alleges is that security safeguards and agency oversight were bypassed while the data from millions of beneficiaries was moved. While there have been no public reports of this data being breached, it has been described as vulnerable. Furthermore, as part of its efforts to gain access to state-level voter information, the Federal government has requested that all states turn over sensitive voter information, including partial Social Security numbers. It is unclear how many states will comply with this attempt to federalize what are essentially state responsibilities regarding elections.

The fundamental problem of the Social Security Trust Fund running out of money by 2033 also looms large. As we have previously mentioned, if Congress does not act, benefits could be cut by as much as 23% from what they otherwise would have been had the system been fully funded. But the reality is, the system is now paying out more than it’s taking in, and when the Trust Fund runs out of money, the system will no longer be able to fully pay out what you are owed.  Does that mean you should rush to claim your benefits, perhaps before your official retirement age, out of concern that you may not get everything you are owed at a later time? While it may be tempting to “get your money while you can,” the reality is that by claiming your payouts well before your official retirement age, or even better, at age 70, you may be cheating yourself out of bigger payouts over the long term. For more on this quandary, pull out your calculator and look here.