The turmoil at the Social Security Administration, which we’ve previously profiled, continues on, as more staff firings may be in the works, computer systems malfunction, and remaining staff struggle to address problems and consumer fears in a system that was already at a 50-year staffing low even before the current administration came into power. While no one in power has yet to suggest that actual benefits for current or future recipients need to be cut, the fallout from the current chaos calls into question the security and viability of the entire system and does nothing to address the real underlying problems that need urgent attention to keep the system afloat. Let’s take stock of where things currently stand.

Already, job cuts of 7000 Social Security Administration staff have been called for by the administration, which is 12% of the workforce. More than 2500 employees have already taken government-offered buyouts, often leaving critical roles vacant, and 2000 of these employees worked in field offices, which means service at these offices has been impacted, and wait times to meet with a member of the staff will go up significantly. As NPR recently made clear, “According to the agency’s own performance data, there has been a significant increase in wait times for phone services since President Trump was elected.” And, as insecurity about the system has skyrocketed, so too have calls to the agency. According to the SSA, in November of 2024, about 6.5 million calls were placed to the SSA, while in March of 2025, that number shot up to 10.4 million calls. A recent survey about retirement confidence conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 7 in 10 retirees are at least somewhat concerned about their Social Security and Medicare benefits, and 80% of retirees are concerned about their Social Security payments being reduced.

While only Congress is authorized to make benefit changes to Social Security, these significant staff cuts and resulting service problems are putting the system under undue strain. The administration has said that professionals currently staffing Regional offices that are slated to be closed will be transferred to staff up field offices that have lost staff. However, it takes significant time and resources to train field staff to deal with problems experienced by Social Security recipients, so this may only be a solution for the longer term. Moreover, Reuters recently reported that more staff cuts may be in the works. President Trump recently issued an executive order to reclassify thousands of workers into “at-will” employees, thereby making it easier to fire them. Reuters reported that this could mean thousands of additional staff cuts at the SSA, which will further hamper services for recipients.

What else is in the works that may affect Social Security recipients? Reuters also recently reported that the Trump administration plans to zero out the budget of the Social Security Advisory Board, a bipartisan group that is in place to advise the President and Congress on recommended policy changes to Social Security. While technically Congress can only dissolve this board, the lack of funding effectively eliminates its work and influence on future Social Security policy changes. And one additional policy change? If you are currently in default on your student loan debt, beginning Monday, May 5th, the Department of Education will start to claw back your debt through any Social Security payments you currently receive. And for those of you still receiving a paper Social Security check, that will no longer be available as of September 30th of this year. That means you will have to set up a direct deposit of your check, something that will require you to go in person to a Social Security field office or through an online account.

You may have also heard that efforts are now underway to classify all undocumented immigrants in the system as “dead,” which will cut off their access to multiple other government services and supports. And while you may think that sounds appropriate, what you may not realize is that the system is so error prone and understaffed at this point that thousands of American citizens may also get caught up in this “death declaration,” which is a complicated classification to reverse, even if you show up alive and well at a Social Security office to alert them to the mistake. For one man’s journey through this mess, take a look here.

While there has been some successful pushback against certain proposed changes (for example, you can still call a Social Security office with a claim or problem, though if they suspect there is some “irregularity” with your situation they will demand you to come in person to verify yourself), the reality is that many of the proposed and implemented changes are wreaking havoc on an already fragile entity, one which has needed modernization for a long time, but instead has just gotten haphazard and chaotic change. What happens if the system can’t handle this level of chaos and change? Are we heading toward collapse or privatization? Currently, money in the Social Security system is invested in relatively safe Treasury Bonds, and taxpayers do not pay fees for operation or investment advice. However, if the system is turned over to private, for-profit investment firms, it’s possible there will be greater returns on investment- or, it’s possible there will be significant losses, given market instability, along with significant fees that will be charged by Wall Street money managers. While it’s possible some public/private hybrid system could develop, the reality is no one knows for sure, just as no one knows for sure whether the current system can handle the growing chaos. The only thing clear at the moment is that no one seems to know what’s going on, but public fear is on the rise.