SSA Staff Cuts Top 10% in 42 States, Threatening Social Security Delays
Updated
Updated · FinanceBuzz · Aug 13
SSA Staff Cuts Top 10% in 42 States, Threatening Social Security Delays
1 articles · Updated · FinanceBuzz · Aug 13
Summary
More than 10% of Social Security Administration staff disappeared in 42 states and Washington, D.C., between January 2025 and April 2026, raising the risk of delayed claims, corrections and appeals for retirees.
6,600-plus employees left the agency in 2025 alone—over 11% of its workforce—including more than 3,800 customer-service workers, while SSA plans to reduce in-person visits to 15 million from 31 million annually.
New Mexico lost 23% of its SSA staff, D.C. and Hawaii 21%, Wyoming 18%, and Missouri and Wisconsin 17%; in eight states, each remaining field-office worker now serves more than 5,000 beneficiaries.
Service strain is already showing up in longer waits, fewer appointment slots and a disability-hearing backlog that grew by more than 73,000 cases from January 2025 to February 2026.
Mark Cuban argues those bottlenecks amount to an effective benefit cut, especially for rural and less tech-savvy seniors who depend on field offices or phone help to secure full payments.