US Social Security Website Crashes Four Times In 10 Days, Raising Concerns Over Staffing Cuts

The US Social Security Administration (SSA) pays £1.15 trillion ($1.5 trillion) annually to 73 million retired workers, their survivors, and disabled Americans. Tens of millions of beneficiaries rely on monthly Social Security benefits to get by amid rising living costs.

SSA's systems have long struggled with ageing technology and a flat budget to provide reliable and quick service to recipients. The recent actions by the US Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, further undermine the system's poor efficiency.

The impact of recent mass layoffs at the agency is already being felt. The SSA website crashed four times in the ten days this month because the agency's servers were overloaded. This mishap prevented countless retirees from accessing their online accounts. Meanwhile, office managers are answering phone calls instead of receptionists because of workforce downsizing. The agency's office responsible for tracking customer experience was also scrapped under DOGE's cost-saving actions.

Trump's Choice for Social Security Chief Wants to Run the Agency in the 'Right Fashion'

US President Donald Trump's Social Security chief nominee, Frank Bisignano, faced lawmakers' questions at a Tuesday Senate confirmation hearing about customer service and erroneous payments. The former Fiserv CEO highlighted he has been ordered to 'run the agency in the right fashion' and ensure that 'claims are processed in the manner they should be.'

In the past six weeks, Leland Dudek, the acting commission of the SSA, has trimmed 12% of the 57,000-strong workforce. He has conceded that the SSA's phone service needs improvements and acknowledged that the DOGE is in charge.

Dudek has issued several policy changes that became chaotic for front-line staff. He terminated dozens of experienced officials who could efficiently run Social Security's complex benefit and information technology systems. The acting chief even terminated research contracts and offered early-retirement incentives across the agency, consolidating regional offices.

The agency, which faces risks of insolvency in a decade, has been led by four commissioners in five months, and only one of them was confirmed by the Senate.

'What's going on is the destruction of the agency from the inside out, and it's accelerating,' said Sen. Angus King in an interview. 'I have people approaching me all the time in their 70s and 80s, and they're beside themselves. They don't know what's coming.'

AARP stated Monday that the number of people calling the retiree organisation since early February has doubled to over 2,000 people weekly; most were worried about the continuity of payments.

'They're creating a fire to require them to come and put it out,' said one high-ranking SSA official who took early retirement in March.

DOGE's New Mandates Trigger Alarm

DOGE started targeting the SSA with claims of fraud around millions of deceased people receiving benefits. Soon after, the department enforced mandates to address alleged fraud, which involved scrapping direct deposit transactions and identity authentication services through phones. Hence, recipients without computers must visit local field offices for these services, while those with computers must go through the process online.

'We realise this is a significant change, and there will be a significant impact to customers," Doris Diaz, deputy commissioner of operations, told the field staff this week during a briefing on the changes.