7,500 Employees, 70 Million Beneficiaries
The Social Security Administration lost approximately 7,500 employees from January 2025 to January 2026. That is 13% of the entire workforce. The agency now has fewer staff than at any point in over 50 years, while the number of Americans receiving Social Security benefits has never been higher.
7,500 employees lost. 13% of the workforce. A 50-year staffing low serving 70 million Americans.
More than 3,000 of the lost positions were customer-facing staff who assisted visitors at field offices and answered calls on the national 800 number. These are the people who help a 67-year-old apply for retirement benefits, help a widow process survivor claims, and help a disabled worker appeal a denial.
Offices Closing Their Doors
Some field offices have been so short-staffed that they closed their doors to in-person visitors for hours, days, or weeks at a time. The agency that processes retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for 70 million Americans is turning people away because there is no one to serve them.
Pending cases rose by more than 73,000 from January 2025 to February 2026. The Center for American Progress reported a drop of 500,000 field office visits in FY2026, not because fewer people need help, but because access was cut.
Senators Gillibrand and Warren launched a federal investigation in March 2026, calling the customer service failures “new extremes.”
Who Gets Hurt
Social Security is not an optional program. It is the primary income source for most retired Americans. For many disabled workers, it is the only income. For widows and orphans, survivor benefits are the financial floor.
When an office closes and a disability claim cannot be filed, the applicant waits. When the 800 number is understaffed and callers are disconnected, they try again tomorrow. When pending cases rise by 73,000, those are 73,000 people waiting longer for money they have already earned.
The cuts do not affect wealthy retirees with private savings. They affect the people who depend most on the system working.
Read more on the Federal Agencies hub and the DOGE brief.