Social Security Benefits Could Face 'Interruption' Within 30 Days
Former Social Security commissioner Martin O'Malley warned that payments to beneficiaries could be interrupted within 30 days as a result of changes recommended by the advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
DOGE, which was tasked by Donald Trump with shrinking the size of the government and cutting waste in the federal budget, is reportedly planning on slashing the Social Security Administration (SSA) workforce by half, in a move that could dramatically impact the program.
"Ultimately, you're going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits," O'Malley told CNBC of the DOGE cuts. "I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days."
Newsweek contacted the SSA press office for comment by email on Tuesday morning.
Why It Matters
More than 70 million people in the U.S. depend on Social Security benefits, including some of the most vulnerable members of society such as retirees and people with disabilities.
While Trump promised not to cut Social Security benefits during his presidential campaign, the blueprint budget recently approved by Republicans in Congress and DOGE's proposed cuts to the SSA, which handles the program, have raised concerns over the future of Social Security.
What to Know
DOGE's attempts to streamline operations are already having a profound impact on the Social Security administration, which announced last week that it had closed down its Office of Transformation while putting staff on administrative leave.
"President Trump has mandated the Federal government eliminate wasteful and inefficient offices and the Office of Transformation was a prime example," Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, said in a press release issued on February 24. "This redundant office was created under the previous administration and we are righting that wrong."
The SSA has also confirmed it has moved the operations of its Office of Analytics, Review and Oversight (OARO) to "existing parts of the agency" and has ended cooperation with the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium (RDRC)—a program for research on Social Security, retirement and disability policy issues.
In another press release issued last week, the agency announced plans to cut its workforce of about 57,000 by about 7,000 employees. These cuts come at the same time as the SSA is already facing a staffing shortage.
O'Malley said that DOGE's cuts have already led to significant system outages that may increase over time until the system "collapses" and the agency is unable to continue processing payments to beneficiaries. The former commissioner told Congress the SSA needs more funding for information technology modernization and improved customer services.
Why Is The Program Being Targeted?
Elon Musk, who is leading the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce and cut the federal budget, has accused the Social Security program of being rife with fraud and waste. Speaking on the Joe Rogan podcast in an episode aired last week, the Tesla CEO claimed Social Security was "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time," referring to a fraudulent pyramid scheme where new investors pay for existing ones.
Several Democrats have pushed back against this claim, saying that Musk is pushing a "disinformation campaign" against the program, as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders stated. "What is the goal of this disinformation campaign? To privatize the most successful government program in history and give it over to Wall Street," he wrote on X.
Musk had previously claimed that the program is paying benefits to millions of dead people in what experts have labeled a misreading of existing data.
What People Are Saying
Dudek said in a March 3 press release: "For too long, SSA has operated on Autopilot. We have spent billions annually doing the same things the same way, leading to bureaucratic stagnation, inefficiency, and a lack of meaningful service improvements. It is time to change just that."
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., said in a recent statement: "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."