• Staffing at the Social Security Administration is at a historic low.
• Nearly a dozen SSA employees told BI that morale has tanked among Trump cuts and rising boomer demand.
• Employees warn that understaffing could lead to delayed checks for beneficiaries.

Edwin Osario believes there's a "sense of nobility" in his work at a New York-area Social Security office. For over three decades, he has answered phones, taken meetings, and helped ensure that thousands of retirees and people with disabilities receive their monthly checks.

"People who are downtrodden, people who are aged, people who just became recently disabled or widowed — they come here because we're the last stop," he said. "We're the salvation."

Lately, however, it seems to Osario like the agency he's "cherished for many years" no longer wants him. It's not personal to Osario; the Trump administration is working toward its goal of reducing spending by cutting 7,000 Social Security Administration employees through office closures, return-to-office mandates, and deferred resignations.

Business Insider spoke to nearly a dozen current and former employees who used words like "chaos," "stress," "confusion," and "fear" to describe working at call centers and field offices every day. While Social Security remains immensely popular among Americans, with the majority thinking the country should spend more money on it, beneficiaries are taking out their anxieties on workers. They've flooded field offices and phone lines, overloading an already-stretched staff. Those who remain at their desks are concerned about the effect of the cuts on their ability to complete the work that ultimately provides monthly checks to 73 million Americans.

Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek told BI in a statement that the Trump administration is getting rid of "unnecessary bureaucracy" within the agency that "will deliver on President Trump's promise to protect Social Security by providing the high-quality service and stewardship that the American people expect and deserve."

The SSA told BI that its staff cuts are part of a "workforce optimization plan that focuses on reducing employees in non-mission-critical positions and bolstering staff in mission-critical roles," adding that there will be no disruptions in service for beneficiaries.

With cuts ongoing, the pressure is mounting on the roughly 50,000 SSA workers who will remain to keep the nation's largest safety net afloat— and tensions are bubbling over.

"We feel like we're the enemy," he said.

What it's like to work at Social Security as cuts collides with a wave of boomer retirements

Social Security field office employees described two main parts of their job. There are the tasks the public sees: the hours they spend on the phone answering beneficiary questions or taking in-person meetings. Then, there are the more complex and time-consuming tasks that happen behind the scenes: completing paperwork, reviewing means-testing documents, updating bank information, and more.

Recent staff reductions mean workers have less time and resources to complete this crucial work. A pilot program at some field offices to give employees more time for these tasks was canceled this spring, and staff members involved said they received little communication from leadership about why.

Osario said he feels that work anxiety "stays with you at your dinner table" with family and friends. Jill Hornick, a field office employee of 33 years, said she regularly receives phone calls from colleagues "crying because they don't know if they're going to be fired," and a customer service representative said "when you're taking on so much sadness, it creates a level of sadness in you as well."

Call center employees don't have the same paperwork responsibilities, but Shaunellia Ferguson, AFGE Local 2014 president and a longtime customer service representative, said the demands of her role have grown, too. Call volume for the SSA's 1-800 number has jumped in recent months, causing frustration among beneficiaries and raising alarms with AARP and lawmakers. An increasing share of callers have gotten a prerecorded disconnect message when they tried to reach a representative.

"A loss of seven to eight thousand employees is a huge crush, and the public is going to see worse than a two to three hour wait time — that's going to increase exponentially," another seasoned customer service employee told BI.

A BI analysis showed that the number of beneficiaries has grown much faster than the SSA's staff in the last few decades. That comes as a wave of baby boomers prepares for retirement, with many in the peak cohort set to be reliant on Social Security as their primary income.

While it's also not unheard of for a White House transition to prompt leadership and policy shifts at the SSA, several employees told BI that this time feels different. The most recent changes came as a surprise to many, as SSA staff were left out of the initial round of federal firings, and the president previously said he "would not cut one penny" from the program.

Prior to Trump taking office, employees said, their workload could be overwhelming, but now they are experiencing what one called "the most chaotic period in my 40-plus years that I've been here."

"We've never seen something of this magnitude," Laura Haltzel, a former Social Security associate commissioner, said, adding, "We have never seen anything this intentional, this effort of cutting — beyond cutting — to the bone."

Employees also feel left in the dark about the new in-person ID requirement the administration has introduced to fight fraud, which makes up less than 1% of Social Security's improper payments. The SSA rolled back the ID requirement multiple times before officially enforcing it in mid-April. Some employees said they didn't receive training about it.

Several employees told BI they have learned about staff reductions and other updates from news reports, not SSA leadership. This also comes as acting commissioner Dudek is likely to be replaced by Trump appointee and finance industry executive Frank Bisignano, which employees feel both hopeful and apprehensive about.

One customer service representative said they hope Bisignano will "see the big picture here that the constant barrage of whippings towards federal employees isn't productive."

As customer service crumbles, the stakes are high for employees and beneficiaries

Social Security's monthly checks are pivotal in keeping seniors, people with disabilities, and lower-income households out of poverty.

As the need for it grows and SSA staff numbers shrink, employees told BI morale within the agency has tanked.

This is coupled with personal safety fears, especially if desperation grows among beneficiaries: "It's a potential tinderbox of people getting irate because of having to wait a long time," SSA General Committee Spokesperson for the AFGE Rich Couture said, adding, "You're looking at a potential security risk."

Beyond the emotional toll on staff, employees said that the Trump administration's changes to the SSA could have material consequences. As time and resources disappear, some employees warned that it will take longer for beneficiaries' claims to be processed.

There have not yet been any reports of delayed or missing checks, and none of the White House's cuts or policies at the SSA are expected to impact the amount of money beneficiaries receive. But several employees emphasized that there is a risk of delays if staffing conditions don't improve.

Any delay in checks would be catastrophic for beneficiaries like Linda Hudak, 71, who relies on Social Security for all of her income and receives SNAP benefits for food. "It's very depressing," she said.

The SSA employees BI spoke with feel a heavy weight on their shoulders. Some took a job at Social Security because they're veterans looking to serve their country in a different uniform; others are beneficiaries themselves who say the checks are important for their own livelihood. Most told BI they feel the public service mission they signed up for is falling apart — and they're worried it won't recover if Trump's cost-cutting efforts continue.

"We're at the tip of the iceberg," Hornick, who is the administrative director for AFGE Local 1395, said. "This is just going to get worse and worse and worse. Humpty Dumpty has fallen off the wall, and all the king's men can't put them together again. I'm sorry I'm in a very pessimistic mood, but I don't think the Social Security that we know is going to be something we'll see again."

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• 41 Social Security offices are cutting 25-58% of workers under DOGE's budget reductions.
• The agency faces increased customer service demand as retirees worry cuts will affect benefits.
• This comes as Trump hopes to combat fraud and cut costs at the SSA.

A Social Security customer service office in Wisconsin is cutting more than 58% of its workers in the coming weeks. It's one of 41 field offices where staff is being reduced by more than a quarter due to Trump's budget cuts.

That's fewer people to answer phones, handle in-person appointments, and process paperwork at a time when retirees flood the agency's phones and visit offices in droves due to concerns that the White House's cost-saving efforts will imperil their benefits.

Business Insider obtained and viewed the list of offices, which was on the Social Security Administration's website as of Sunday but is no longer visible. SSA has over 1,000 locations, but the White House's DOGE commission plans to close over 25 of them. Already, around 6 million seniors are 45 miles or more away from one.

"The times when you do have to go to the Social Security office are when, oftentimes, something really bad has happened to you," Bill Sweeney, AARP's senior vice president for government affairs, told BI. The nonprofit has also reported record call volumes from older Americans worried about their monthly checks.

Short-staffing at field offices comes alongside major changes for Social Security. In accordance with the Trump administration's cost-cutting goals for federal agencies, the SSA announced it would cut 7,000 employees out of a total of 57,000 — which would place the Social Security workforce at a historic low. New in-person identification requirements have offices bracing for a steep influx of visitors. As of April 9, nine field offices have also reverted to phone-service only, but those locations don't appear to have direct overlap with the offices facing a 25% or more staff reduction.

The SSA previously told BI that a recent return-to-office mandate will help ease customer service challenges. The Trump administration told BI changes at the SSA are because the president is a "responsible steward" of taxpayer dollars. Trump said new policies that the SSA will alleviate benefits fraud, which made up 0.84% of total improper payments between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, per the SSA's Office of the Inspector General. He has said that he will not cut benefits.

"The unnecessary loss of field office staff will place greater workload pressure on the remaining employees, which will further depress morale and likely induce more employees to leave, and so on," Rich Couture, the federal worker union's SSA General Committee spokesperson, told BI. "High attrition will lead to higher wait times and processing delays for beneficiaries, and will increase the risk of field office closures due to lack of staffing."

Staff reduction efforts also mean employees who remain at the agency are being asked to consider voluntary reassignments to "mission critical" positions at field offices and call centers. On April 3, employees received an email from the Human Resources department at the SSA. The email, which was viewed by BI, said staff had until April 7 to volunteer: "More than 1,000 of your colleagues have already stepped up to support our mission — but we need more of you to join them." It is not yet clear how many employees accepted the offer or what positions they will fill.

Low staffing is causing anxiety for beneficiaries

As field office staffing falls, demand for SSA services — or a desire to ensure benefits are secure — has taken hold among some recipients. The agency has seen its daily calls rise by 50,000 from February to March, and the agent busy rate, which tracks how many callers hear a prerecorded disconnect message when they want a representative, has skyrocketed. In a March 28th agency meeting shared publicly, a Social Security operations worker said 665,000 people visited field offices the week before — a "significant" influx of potentially concerned recipients. Recurring website outages are also making it difficult for beneficiaries to get help.

For seniors, this means a chicken and egg scenario: Concerns about Social Security are leading them to call in more and show up more, potentially leading to more work for a dwindling workforce. That could exacerbate anxiety all around.

When visiting a field office, people are "already stressed out," Sweeney said.

"Having to spend hours and hours fighting with the phones and having to drive long distances to an office just to prove things that you can prove over the phone — it just adds a lot of insult to injury here."

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• Rumors swirled Wednesday that Elon Musk may leave his role at the White House DOGE Office.
• After Politico's report, BI heard from 16 federal workers about what his departure would mean.
• The Trump administration and Musk both denied his exit on X, and workers say it doesn't make a difference anyway.

Even if Elon Musk is eyeing the exit, federal workers say the anxiety and financial chaos DOGE caused will stick with them long after his tenure ends.

After Politico reported that the world's richest man might be leaving his post as the de facto leader of the White House DOGE Office soon, Business Insider spoke with 16 current and recently fired federal employees who are left wondering what it means for the future of their agencies — while most are crystal clear about their distaste for Musk himself.

"Obviously, my reaction is good riddance," an employee at the Office of Personnel Management said. Employees requested anonymity for fear of retaliation or because they were not authorized to speak, and BI has verified their identities.

Musk has been a vocal advocate of firing federal employees and slashing government budgets. Some federal workers who voted for Trump previously told BI that they support efforts to make the government more efficient but feel "betrayed" by widespread job cuts and upset by Musk's role.

The White House has denied that Musk plans to step back from the cost-cutting effort, directing BI to a post on X by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: "Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete." No timeline was given. Representatives for DOGE did not respond to a request for comment from BI, and Musk said on X, "Yeah, fake news."

As a special government employee, Musk is only legally allowed to work for the government for at most 130 days a year. Most employees BI spoke to doubted that a quicker departure would make much of a difference.

Five current and former employees told BI that they think Musk will still influence the DOGE office's operations, even if he technically gives up his government role. As one put it, he'll still "pull the puppet strings — whether inside the White House or out of it."

Others said they didn't see much daylight between Musk and his allies, like Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and young DOGE office staffers.

"I'm assuming he's getting out sooner because this has cost him and his businesses far more than he anticipated, for which I am glad. I hope he never fully recovers," a NOAA employee said.

The Politico report comes as Tesla stock has fluctuated amid Musk's growing power in the West Wing. The company's reported first-quarter deliveries were well below analysts' estimates, and shares are down roughly 30% this year. Even as the president has championed Tesla on the White House lawn, owners of the vehicles have been putting them up for sale in droves. Just yesterday, a conservative judge lost a key election in Wisconsin — despite getting more than $12 million from Musk's PAC.

At a town hall on Sunday, Musk said that his role in the Trump administration is "costing me a lot." Meanwhile, some federal employees are skeptical he'd leave his government influence behind.

"Maybe on paper, they'll say someone else is in charge, but in reality, it will still be Musk," an IRS employee said. An employee at NASA predicted that Musk would simply use X to "pressure anyone not doing what he wants."

Eight employees said they hoped the news was true. Yet many of those who welcomed Musk's departure also said that DOGE has already made a significant, enduring mark on the federal government.

After so many firings, an employee at the Institute of Museum and Library Services said Musk's departure "would be a hopeful sign to keep the federal workforce afloat, but so much damage has already been done. We need more people to proactively help us rather than just wait around for him to leave."

Noah Sheidlower and Ayelet Sheffey contributed reporting.

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