Social Security has never missed a benefit payment since it began sending monthly benefits to individuals over eight decades ago.
However, recent actions at the US Social Security Administration by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency are jeopardizing monthly benefit checks for more than 72.5 million Americans, according to former commissioner and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley.
“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” O’Malley warned. “I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days.”
Before any interruption in benefits, “people should start saving now,” O’Malley advised.
Elon Musk has criticized the Social Security Administration for relying on multiple systems and technologies that can lead to errors. As commissioner, O’Malley informed Congress that the agency required additional funding for IT modernization.
O’Malley stated that DOGE leaders are currently making changes at the agency, and significant staff cuts have already resulted in system outages. These intermittent IT outages may occur more frequently and for longer periods of time, resulting in a “system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” he stated.
The Social Security Administration and the White House did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Social Security Administration leadership upheaval
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is not a federal department. And Musk, whom President Donald Trump hired to implement DOGE, is not an elected official.
Since its inception, DOGE has sought to reduce spending by federal government agencies.
The cuts have caused leadership turmoil, including the recent resignation of acting commissioner Michelle King due to a reported disagreement over DOGE’s access to sensitive information.
O’Malley resigned from the Social Security Administration in November to run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, a position he lost to Minnesota Democrat Ken Martin.
Frank Bisignano, CEO of Fiserv, has been nominated by President Trump as the new Social Security Administration commissioner. Bisignano has yet to appear for Senate confirmation hearings.
In the interim, Lee Dudek, who joined the agency in 2009, has been named acting commissioner.
Dudek posted on LinkedIn earlier this month that he had been placed on administrative leave by the agency for assisting DOGE representatives, according to The Wall Street Journal (February 20).
“Our continuing priority is to pay beneficiaries the right amount at the right time, as well as to provide other critical services that people rely on,” Dudek said in a statement about his appointment on February 19.
Whose benefits may be most at risk
However, experts warn that the Trump administration’s overhaul of the agency could jeopardize the benefits on which Americans rely.
“The American public needs to understand that one of their major social safety nets is in dire jeopardy,” said Jill Hornick, a union official with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1395, which primarily represents Social Security offices in Illinois.
“It’ll take a while for the effects to be felt, but they’re coming,” Hornick said, predicting that what happens to Social Security will be “far worse” than the planned Medicaid cuts.
People who already receive Social Security benefits may not be affected because the majority of them are automated, she said.
However, processing new claims, whether for retirement or disability benefits, may take longer because they cannot be processed without Social Security employees, she explained.
On Thursday, the Social Security Administration sent a notice to employees giving them until March 14 to decide whether to take an early buyout. Unlike a previous January offer, this now includes service employees, and staffing cuts in that area may affect how quickly the agency processes benefit claims and provides other services, Hornick said.
For example, if a woman files for survivor benefits after her husband dies, she must include a copy of her marriage license. Hornick explained that a Social Security employee must then code the system to confirm that they have seen the document and that the applicant is eligible for benefits.
Maria Freese, senior legislative representative at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, stated that “not everybody can do things electronically,” particularly the older adults and disabled individuals served by the Social Security Administration.
“If you don’t have people to run an agency that requires hands-on customer service, then of course there’s a risk that you could end up with benefits being either denied or interrupted,” Freese told the crowd.
Office closures may reduce access to services
According to Rich Couture, spokesperson for the AFGE SSA General Committee, a union that represents 42,000 Social Security employees nationwide, the DOGE savings website lists approximately 45 Social Security locations where leases will be terminated.
The list contains little information about the uses for the closed locations. According to Couture, the square footage listed suggests that they could be used for in-person disability benefit hearings. In one case, the location appears to be a busy New York state field office that offers general services, he stated.
“If they’re going to close these offices that are busy in highly populated areas, it would suggest to me that there’s no office in this country that would be safe from having a lease terminated, especially in rural areas,” according to Couture.
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., recently described the changes as a “backdoor benefit cut.”
“Let me be clear — laying off half of the workforce at the Social Security Administration and shuttering field offices will mean the delay, disruption and denial of benefits,” Larson told reporters.
In a statement to CNBC.com earlier this week, the Social Security Administration said it has no reduction targets in response to reports that it plans to lay off half of its employees.
As a union, AFGE has issued bargaining demands in response to the agency’s recent decisions and intends to enforce employee rights using other means as needed, according to spokesperson Couture.
While many lawsuits have been filed, it will take time to process them, especially since the courts are now inundated with cases related to the Trump administration’s actions, according to Nancy Altman, president of advocacy organization Social Security Works.
Former SSA commissioner O’Malley believes that the pressure American voters may put on elected officials will have the most significant impact.
“I think many people throughout the country are going to start bringing a lot of heat to members of Congress who have been facilitating, supporting, aiding and abetting the breaking of their Social Security and the interruption of benefits that they work their whole lives to earn,” according to him. “These are earned benefits.”