Former Social Security’s Administration’s (SSA’s), Martin O’ Malley showed deep concern for Social Security at the town hall at Long Island University on Monday when discussing the SSA’s ability to maintain consistent payments. According to Long Island Press, O’ Malley said, “I truly believe there’s going to be some interruption of benefits for some period of time, and I believe that will probably happen in the very near future.”
More about the discussion at a public forum in Long Island
O’Malley had been joined at the event by Democratic Representatives, Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi of Nassau County, New York. The three stated that the troubling developments inside the SSA has escalated due to Trump’s presidency and has worsened because of the changes made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk. The trouble is the DOGE’s initiatives have slashed the SSA’s workforce from 57,000 to just 50,000 leading to a 50% reduction of the SSA’s IT staff.
The staff reduction according to O’Malley created a perfect storm including that of underfunding, technological fragility, and systemic dysfunction. O’ Malley further warned in a March appearance on CNBC, “Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits.” One group of citizens are being warned of an SSA benefits interruption this May.
What has resulted from staff cuts?
The question that arises is, should O’Malley’s warning be taken seriously? If so, O’ Malley’s warning highlights many devastating consequences. It is clear that staffing reductions have resulted in longer wait times, delays in claim approvals, and other technical issues that could soon lead to outright payment interruptions. Multiple system crashes have also been mentioned by the three at the town hall. The problem is that even short delays could leave many citizens, dependent on Social Security benefits, facing serious financial complications.
The SSA’s restructuring dismantled many key internal offices and has led to severed ties with academic research partnerships including that of the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium which thus far provided insight into long-term policy effectiveness.
Why all this matters to 70 million Americans?
The mere mention of delayed SSA benefits make the issue a humanitarian issue. Since approximately 70 million Americans depend on Social Security, the issue of delayed SSA benefits could affect retirees, people with disabilities, and surviving family members. For most, these payments are their only reliable income. A slight delay may also put millions of beneficiaries into financial disarray making it impossible for them to keep up with food, rent, and medicine commitments.
While the risks to the SSA becomes evident, acting SSA Commissioner, Lee Dudek, defended the many changes to the SSA. In a March 3 press release, he said, “For too long, SSA has operated on autopilot. It is time to change just that.” Already SSA benefits would be far more difficult to access from April due to the SSA identity verification changes taken into effect.
What critics are arguing?
Critics like Suozzi argue that the SSA cuts could be potentially dangerous. Media sources such as the Long Island Press mentioned that Suozzi asked during the town hall public meeting, “Why would you cut 7,000 employees to save 0.06 percent of the budget from one of the most important agencies?”
Further controversy was created when Elon Musk, leader of the DOGE, referred to Social Security as, “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” in a recent interview. Musk’s comment received much backlash, especially from lawmakers.
Americans are left wondering whether their next paycheck will arrive on time in May or not. With media outlets making voices like that of O’Malley and other critics louder, the public is paying more attention. Will the SSA May payments follow the same payment schedule as the April SSA payment schedule? Will SSA benefits be interrupted this May?
