An AFGE member who’s working at a Social Security office detailed how Trump’s recent staffing cuts and changes to operational procedures have created even more obstacles for the public to access benefits and will force more people to travel to severely understaffed field offices.
Testifying before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on Social Security April 1, Rennie Glasgow, a claims technical expert who’s handling the most complex cases at the Schenectady Social Security office in New York, said the implementation of a two-step identification process alone means individuals who have trouble logging onto their online account will now have to travel to an office and verify their identity in person. This policy change alone will result in 75,000 to 80,000 more in-person visits to already overwhelmed SSA offices.
Glasglow said Schenectady office has recently lost seven employees. It takes a minimum of two years for an employee to be fully trained. SSA has essentially thrown decades of collective experience out the door.
“This represents a devastating sabotage of institutional knowledge and experience,” he told lawmakers. “For the public, the consequences of this sabotage are severe. A grandmother living in Saratoga Springs now faces waiting times two or three times longer than before just to get someone to answer the phone for a simple address change. Alternatively, she must travel to our local office and spend an entire day waiting for assistance.”
Social Security staffing was already at a 50-year low before these cuts. Americans will struggle to access their earned benefits. While the public suffers from inadequate service, SSA employees who have been paid off also worry about how they will provide for their families.
Modifications to the claims and Social Security card enumeration process will force even more people to visit field offices in person. While more services will require going to an office, these offices are being closed in communities across the country.
In New York, offices in White Plains and Poughkeepsie are targeted for closure, which will force seniors and disabled individuals to travel long distances just to get to an office, which is either not prepared or able to meet the surge in demand.
A critical policy change that just went into effect also requires SSA to take 100% of someone’s retirement or disability benefits for any overpayment, instead of the prior limit of 10%. This policy shift also severely increases workload at field offices. The change will trigger a flood of phone calls and in-person visits from desperate beneficiaries seeking relief from having their entire benefit withheld.
Glasglow said many overpayments occur because understaffing has made it difficult, if not impossible, to conduct integrity reviews that would prevent overpayments before they happen.
While employees struggle to meet public service demands, they also must spend hours responding to administrative demands like "fork-in-the-road" emails and documenting their weekly activities that were already tracked and quantifiable.
“These obstacles will prevent people, your constituents who have worked hard and paid into this system, from getting their Social Security benefits,” he said. “Americans deserve better than to have their earned benefits placed out of reach due to deliberate sabotage of the system.”
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