Michigan Launches Survey to Gather Complaints About Social Security Disruptions

The survey is to ’track trends, identify recurring issues, and better advocate for Michigan residents who rely on these essential benefits,' said Michigan’s AG.

Protesters hold signs at a "Mobilization Day" rally in Port Huron, Mich. on April 5, 2025. Steven Kovac/Epoch Times

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel launched a new online reporting system to collect complaints from Michigan residents who may experience disruptions to their Social Security benefits as a result of actions taken by the federal government.

The survey went live on the attorney general’s website on April 15.

“Reports of disruptions to these benefits, directly caused by the Trump Administration’s reckless decision to fire employees with no regard for the consequences, are unacceptable,” Nessel said in a statement.

Nessel, a Democrat, says the layoffs of thousands of Social Security Administration (SSA) employees put recipients through “a number of challenges, including delays in receiving earned benefits, difficulty contacting customer service, and disruptions in claim processing.”

Michigan state Rep. Angela Rigas, a Republican and chair of the state Legislature’s Subcommittee on the Weaponization of State Government, accused the attorney general of stoking fear about the Trump administration.

“Rather than collecting data for her future endeavors and suing President Trump, her office should focus on fighting crime and keeping our residents safe,” she told The Epoch Times.

State Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, a Democrat, did not respond to a request for comment.

Nessel said that Social Security supports millions of people across Michigan and called the federal government’s action “a reckless decision to fire employees with no regard for the consequences.”

By collecting accounts of any bad experiences of recipients and applicants, Nessel said, her office “can track trends, identify recurring issues, and better advocate for Michigan residents who rely on these essential benefits.”

The complaint form asks whether a recipient’s check arrived late or did not arrive at all. It asks if the amount of the check is incorrect and whether the individual had difficulty reaching the SSA.

The form also requests the consent of the complainant to the sharing of the information with the individual’s U.S. representative and senator.

A disclaimer on the form reads, “The Department of Attorney General may use the information collected for future legal actions but will not share personal identifying information without consent.”

Historically, Democrats have told voters that Republicans are trying to cut or eliminate Social Security.

President Donald Trump has said that he will not tamper with Social Security.

Of the 500 demonstrators who turned out for a rally on April 5 in Port Huron, Michigan, to protest budget cuts, a majority carried homemade placards expressing fear that Social Security is in jeopardy.

A Gallup poll released this month found that 52 percent of Americans surveyed worried a “great deal” about Social Security, and another 24 percent worried a “fair amount.”

Twenty-four percent told Gallup that they worried “only a little“ or ”not at all” about the prospect of Social Security being cut or eliminated.

Former President Joe Biden renewed the accusation that Republicans are out to get Social Security in a speech on April 15 in Chicago when he told the Conference of Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled that the present administration has “taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration.”

Shortly after Biden’s address, the SSA wrote in a post on social media platform X that “President Trump has repeatedly promised to protect Social Security” and to exempt the benefits from taxation.

“Former President Joe Biden is lying to Americans,” the SSA wrote.