Social Security Administration Says It Plans to Lay Off 7,000 Workers

The agency also plans to close down several regional offices, reducing the number of offices from 10 to four.

Social security administration in Waycross, Ga., on Aug. 28, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Social Security Administration (SSA) said on Friday that it is planning to lay off about 20 percent of its workforce, or 7,000 employees, in a bid to support the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts.

The agency said it intends to reduce its workforce from the current level of roughly 57,000 to about 50,000, with a significant focus on “functions and employees who do not directly provide mission critical services.”

The SSA also plans to close down several of its regional offices, reducing the number of offices from 10 to four, and slash the number of deputy commissioner-level organizations to seven.

Employees can choose to leave the agency through various resignation and retirement programs, including the Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP).

The SSA stated that some workers may be subject to reduction-in-force actions that will eliminate certain organizations and positions. This may also result in “directed reassignments” of employees to different roles within the agency, it stated.

The agency said that its cuts will “prioritize customer service by streamlining redundant layers of management, reducing non-mission critical work, and potential reassignment of employees to customer service positions.”

“Also supporting this priority is looking for efficiencies and other opportunities to reduce costs across all spending categories, including information technology and contractor spending,” it said.

In an earlier statement, the SSA said it will offer incentives of up to $25,000 for employees who sign up for VSIP. The payment amount will vary based on workers’ grade level, and those choosing this option must apply by March 14 and exit no later than April 19.

For staff members up to GS-8, an incentive of $15,000 will be provided. The amount increases to $20,000 for GS-9 to GS-12 and $25,000 for employees in GS-13 and higher, according to the statement.

“All payments are subject to taxes and normal deductions from income,” the agency stated on Feb. 27.

Employees seeking to retire early can opt for the VERA scheme, which is available from March 1 to Dec. 31. Workers who opt for this must leave the agency by the end of the year.

The SSA also stated that it would continue implementing operational efficiency and cost-cutting measures in line with the executive orders issued by President Donald Trump after taking office on Jan. 20.

Thousands of government employees have been laid off across multiple agencies, while others have opted to leave under a buyout program offered by the administration, amid ongoing efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to identify and eliminate fraud and waste in the federal government.

Last month, the SSA announced the closure of its Office of Transformation and placed staff working in this office on administrative leave from Feb. 24. SSA acting commissioner Lee Dudek cited Trump’s order to eliminate “wasteful and inefficient offices” for the closure.

The agency also eliminated the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity on Feb. 25, calling it a “duplicative office.”

Nancy Altman, president of nonprofit organization Social Security Works, has criticized the SSA’s workforce reductions, saying that it will harm Americans and that the agency was already “chronically understaffed.”

“AI chatbots are no substitute for in-person service from a human being. Americans apply for Social Security benefits at the most vulnerable times of their lives,” she said in a Feb. 26 statement.

“Moreover, many people who seek information may have trouble articulating or even knowing what questions they need to ask.”

Altman warned that workforce reductions at the SSA could result in Americans being denied access to their “hard-earned Social Security benefits.” She said that field offices around the country will close, and wait times for the agency’s number will soar.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.