We all want to have the peace of mind of having a pension that meets our interests (and the years we have been working) when our working life ends. But the future of Social Security in the United States could be hanging by a thread and it is all due to the change of Administration in the White House. The Donald Trump administration has announced the possibility of firing up to 50% of the employees of the Social Security Administration (SSA)!!!. Although the president has reiterated that Social Security benefits will not be reduced, the cuts in staff could seriously affect the care and services received by millions of retirees and people with disabilities. We tell you below everything we know!
What’s going on at the SSA?
It all started when Elon Musk and the Trump administration, through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), identified alleged irregularities in the payment of benefits, and claimed that the SSA was sending payments to people who had been dead for years and decades!!! This has generated great pressure on SSA workers and has led the Administration to make massive layoffs.
How many workers could lose their jobs?
There is no estimated figure yet, but some reports estimate that up to 50,000 jobs will be eliminated, and other sources indicate that it could be considerably less. Although the figures differ, what is certain is that any reduction in staff will affect the operational capacity of the SSA, which could translate into problems for beneficiaries.
What will happen to those who depend on Social Security?
Beneficiaries will be the first to suffer from this mass layoff, mainly because there will surely be several SSA offices that will be closed, that are in the process of closing, or that have already closed, so there will be less personal assistance. Older retirees and people with special needs who depend on personalized attention are those who will notice it the most.
On the other hand, with less staff, if any procedure needs to be carried out that requires an SSA worker (that is, those procedures that cannot be carried out online), your assistance will take much longer, and it could even take longer to approve and review applications, which would directly translate into months of delay in receiving payments…
What about the future of Social Security?
Nothing is certain yet about the future of the SSA, but what is clear is that the first step is a major, deep reform that the government has translated into cuts because they are looking for efficiency, but… will this affect the future of payments? Will they reduce SSA benefits? And on the other hand, groups of retirees fear that these cuts could harm the most vulnerable citizens, such as those people who depend entirely on the SSA.
What they advise, for now, is that beneficiaries verify all their information online and advance any paperwork they need before the layoffs go into effect so that there are no delays, and that they use online services and digital tools.
We will have to prepare in advance so that these cuts do not catch us off guard. Uncertainty about the future of Social Security is still growing and millions of people are still waiting to see what will happen to their livelihoods… we will have to wait to find out what happens.