Social Security Announces Workforce and Organization Plans
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: February 28, 2025
Consistent with recent executive orders issued by the White House, the Social Security Administration will continue to implement efficiencies and reduce costs, with a renewed focus on mission critical work for the American people.
The agency plans to reduce the size of its bloated workforce and organizational structure, with a significant focus on functions and employees who do not directly provide mission critical services. Social Security recently set a staffing target of 50,000, down from the current level of approximately 57,000 employees. Rumor of a 50 percent reduction is false.
Initial steps to reduce the workforce included offering a limited number of employees the opportunity to leave the agency under the Deferred Resignation Program and Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA).
Yesterday, the agency announced to all employees that Social Security would soon implement agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions. The announcement includes offering Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) to all employees on a first come first serve basis and expanding VERA to all employees. Both VERA and VSIP require employees to opt in and to separate from the agency by specific dates.
Social Security anticipates that much of the staff reductions needed to reach the target of 50,000 will come from retirement, VSIP, and resignation. Additional reductions will come from reduction-in-force (RIF) actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions. RIF also can include directed reassignments from one position to another position in the agency. Agencies are required to submit their RIF plans to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by March 13, 2025. No date has been set when a RIF might begin after OPM approves the plan.
SSA has operated with a regional structure consisting of 10 offices, which is no longer sustainable. The agency will reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions. The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient. SSA will now have seven Deputy Commissioner level organizations.
These steps prioritize customer service by streamlining redundant layers of management, reducing non-mission critical work, and potential reassignment of employees to customer service positions. Also supporting this priority is looking for efficiencies and other opportunities to reduce costs across all spending categories, including information technology and contractor spending. SSA is committed to ensure this plan has a positive effect on the delivery of Social Security services.
Did you find this Information helpful?
About the Author
Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
Comments
Leave a Comment
Please review our Comment Policy before leaving a comment. For your safety, please do not post Personally Identifiable Information (such as your Social Security Number, address, phone number, email address, bank account number, or birthdate) on our blog.
RP
BOOOOO. SSA is already extremely understaffed. This is NOT the move. Claims already take forever to process and management has been responsible fixing issues with cases that get left by the wayside.
Zelensky i.
F Donald Trump and Elon Musk
S. P.
Can’t believe that I’m the first to comment, but mine will probably be deleted or hidden some way like any other negative comments will.
SSA was already severely understaffed at the local office level (the “real” workers). I could care less what you do at the Regional or National level, since those folks don’t seem to be able to help anyone anyway. The reductions at the local level and the closure of local offices is shortsighted and counter-productive and will accomplish nothing except to reduce services to the elderly and disabled who need the services the most.
Ed D.
Whomever wrote this is admitting the workforce is bloated?
MC
You know that I know what is really going on? You SUCK! TRUMP SUCKS.
Vicki C.
I am one that has had 4 strokes. I do hope that the wait time on the phones is efficient as it has been on the past year. It doesn’t make sense hiring more help for phones then firing them. I’m discusted about not helping ederly.
Martha W.
You gotta be kiddin’ me.
D. B.
This is disturbing especially for senior citizens and handicapped and low income individuals. It does not seem to have service to the people who worked to fund OUR social security even considered in these terrible decisions.
Jim S.
Nearly 50-year staffing low, and the website previously called the agency, “critically understaffed” but now it’s bloated because the White House told you to make cuts. The fact is, the current workforce is *already* being extraordinarily efficient given operating budget and staff cuts that have already happened since 2018, especially given SSA’s vastly increased number or customer in that time.
Embarrassing and transparent lies.
Amy K.
What a slap in the face to hard-working Americans.
RP
Agreed!