The former head of the Social Security Administration warns that proposed cuts to the agency could lead the entire system to “collapse,” disrupting benefits payments to millions of Americans.
“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse, and there will be an interruption of benefits,” Martin O’Malley, former Social Security commissioner under the Biden administration, told CNBC. “I think that will happen within the next 30 to 90 days.”
“People should start saving now,” he urged.
O’Malley, a Democrat who served as governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015, said proposed reductions in funding and staffing from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have already created chaos at the agency.
More than 72.5 million Americans rely on Social Security for benefits, with almost 90 percent of Americans over the age of 65 relying on the program.
The SSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast on O’Malley’s remarks.
As part of Musk’s government-slashing crusade under DOGE, last week the SSA notified workers it would undergo “significant workforce reductions” as part of an “agency-wide organizational restructuring.” While one anonymous source within the agency told the Associated Press that the agency could cut up to 50 percent of its workforce, SSA has denied this claim, saying in a statement that it had “set a staffing target of 50,000, down from the current level of approximately 57,000 employees.” The SSA has offered buyouts to agency employees, with a deadline of March 14, before layoffs begin.
DOGE has also said it planned to close 45 SSA offices across the country by letting their leases expire.
MORE AT:
DAILY
BEAST
Social Security Checks Could Stop Going Out by April, Ex-Head Warns
The former Social Security commissioner said the system could “collapse,” causing disruptions in payments within “30 to 90 days.”
Nandika Chatterjee
Updated Mar. 3 2025 8:11PM EST Published Mar. 3 2025 4:59PM EST
Trump announced his tariffs on Fox News as Fox Business ran the stock ticker showing the crash as he spoke.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You can add your voice to this blog by posting a comment.