Cuts to the Social Security Administration Threaten Millions of Americans’ Retirement and Disability Benefits

In January 2025, 73 million people—more than 1 in 5 Americans—received benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). But the agency that gets those benefits into bank accounts to buy groceries and pay bills is now under attack, putting beneficiaries at risk of dangerous disruptions and delays. Recently, the SSA announced that it would cut approximately 7,000 jobs—a 12 percent reduction in the agency’s staffing. At the same time, the SSA is shutting down six of its 10 regional offices, while posts to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) website spark fears of upcoming field office closures around the country.

These assaults on the SSA threaten Americans’ ability to access the benefits they rely on to get by.

Without necessary staff and infrastructure, Social Security and disability checks could be delayed or missed, putting millions of Americans at dire risk

The Social Security Administration has been doing more with less for years, providing benefits to a rapidly growing number of beneficiaries despite its shrinking staff. Under congressional restrictions on administrative spending, agency capacity has stretched to the breaking point, with staff levels approaching a 25-year low in fiscal year 2024. Under these conditions, former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley warned that DOGE-led cuts to an already skeletal agency may lead to “system collapse and an interruption of benefits.”

Any delay or interruption in payments would be catastrophic. More than 7 million Americans 65 and older receive at least 90 percent of their income from Social Security.* For many of these seniors, even a few days’ delay in receiving Social Security benefits would pose an immediate threat to their ability to pay rent and buy food. Payments made even later, or missed, would irreparably harm many more: In a January 2025 survey, 42 percent of Americans 65 and older reported “I would not be able to afford the basics, such as food, clothing, or housing [without Social Security retirement benefits].”

Disabled people and their families, likewise, would face dire straits. More than 11 million disabled Americans under the age of 65 rely on benefits administered by the SSA through either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or both. Most SSDI recipients can’t work due to their disability, while others work limited hours and can only earn very limited amounts without forfeiting their benefits. For SSI claimants, even 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. As a result, too many SSDI and SSI recipients are one missed or late payment away from not making rent or putting food on the table.

Even without payment delays, disabled people will bear the brunt of the cuts and wait even longer to access benefits

Though retirement benefits cover more people, the impacts of SSA understaffing fall disproportionately on those seeking disability benefits. Thus, as cuts to staff and potential field office closures reverberate through the system, people with disabilities and their families will pay the price in increased barriers to accessing the benefits they need. As past Center for American Progress research has highlighted, the arduous and extended application processes for SSI and SSDI place an incredibly heavy administrative burden on applicants—a weight that will only grow heavier as agency capacity is slashed.

Research has shown that when field offices close, the number of people receiving disability benefits nearby falls by 16 percent, cutting families off from lifesaving supports. Reduced staff levels also likely mean greater delays in accessing disability benefits at a time when far too many already have to wait far too long, with more than a million people currently waiting for an initial determination of their disability claim. Some areas are harder hit than others: For example, Georgia has an average wait time of 370 days for an initial determination, more than 50 percent longer than the national average. With five Social Security offices reported to close soon in the state, those waits will likely only increase. Agency staffers are already reporting increasing delays as the cuts and restrictions begin to take effect.

Particularly troublingly, one source of ill-advised “savings” for the SSA is through freezing hiring and reducing overtime for staff in Disability Determination Services (DDS), state-run but federally funded offices that are an essential step in the disability review process. Keeping DDS offices staffed in the face of budget constraints and high attrition was already one of the biggest challenges in speeding up the processing of disability claims; new restrictions on capacity will only take the situation from bad to worse.

For people with disabilities and their families, lengthy periods with limited or no income while waiting for an answer on benefits have profound consequences, leading many to run up credit card debt, sell their homes, or even file for bankruptcy. Moreover, disability benefits are a key pathway to accessing health insurance: SSI recipients qualify for Medicaid immediately, while SSDI recipients qualify for Medicare after two years. Longer waits to receive income benefits can mean longer waits to access coverage and, therefore, care, particularly since applicants awaiting an answer on disability benefits often lack health insurance in the interim, putting their health at risk. Others never see a decision at all: 30,000 people died while waiting for a decision in fiscal year 2023. Reducing staff further will only make these dangerous delays longer and more harmful.

Administrative cuts harm customer service for all

For all those who rely on Social Security, including the nearly 55 million people receiving retirement benefits, slashing staffing means a harder time getting to a human being for help answering a question, addressing a problem, or just updating one’s information. And when there are not enough staff to process claims, new retirement claimants could see delays in getting their benefits started. Relatedly, Social Security receives tens of millions of calls to its toll-free phone number each year. Cutting an already stretched-thin staff could send high wait times through the roof and prompt many more calls to go unanswered altogether, making it harder to get assistance or information. Already, The Washington Post reports: “Wait times for basic phone service have grown, in some cases to hours, according to some [SSA] employees.” The ability to access support via the 800 number would only become more significant if office closures made in-person support less accessible. Notably, most Social Security claimants are 65 or older, the age group least likely to have broadband internet access at home.

Cuts to SSA capacity will also inhibit Americans’ ability to access other vital programs for themselves and their families. For example, SSA staff help people who are applying for or receive SSI apply for benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is how millions of people, including many of those receiving or waiting to receive disability benefits, feed themselves and their families. At a time when SNAP faces the double-barreled threat of disastrous funding cuts and increasingly onerous administrative restrictions, reducing SSA staff and closing offices would hinder SSI recipients and applicants’ ability to get the support they need to access lifesaving food assistance through SNAP.

Conclusion

For generations, Social Security has been the bedrock of economic security for seniors and people with disabilities. Americans want to see Social Security supported and bolstered, not cut, with bipartisan majorities supporting increased spending on Social Security. By slashing staff and closing offices, the Trump administration is doing the opposite, compromising the capacity needed to get Americans the retirement and disability benefits they need, when they need them. To keep the promise of Social Security on which people have built their lives and livelihoods for nearly a century, America needs a strong and stable Social Security Administration that can continue to deliver.

* Author’s note: These numbers are based on author calculations of data from the SSA’s “Social Security Fact Sheet” and Table 5.J.3 in “Annual Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin, 2024.”