EXPERT ANALYSIS

A University of Michigan professor offers insights on the Trump administration’s plans to cut the Social Security Administration workforce.

Pamela Herd is the Carol Kakalec Kohn professor of social policy at the Ford School of Public Policy and a faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research’s Population Studies Center. Her research focuses on inequality and how it intersects with health, aging and policy.

“Social Security is our biggest and most successful safety net program. The annual $1.6 trillion in benefits constitutes 21% of federal spending and 40% of older adults’ income,” she said. “The Trump administration has called for substantial layoffs for Social Security Administration employees. Leadership is saying it will cut 7,000 of its 57,000 staff.

“Notably, Social Security is already an incredibly efficient program. Indeed, the percentage of Social Security spending devoted to administration has actually steadily declined, from 2.2% in 1957 to just 0.5% today.

“As the number of people the agency has served has steadily grown, the agency’s administrative capacity has been steadily declining. Even before these new cuts, the system has been taxed. This is especially true for those with disabilities, where wait times to have eligibility confirmed now stretch out for years, with tens of thousands of people dying every year waiting to be enrolled.

“While the agency is efficient, that doesn’t mean it can function with these significant cuts. Monthly payments need to be processed for the 73 million people receiving benefits, the roughly 10,000 babies born every day need to receive Social Security numbers, new retirees need to start receiving benefits, and beneficiaries who have died need to stop receiving benefits.

“Computer systems need to be updated and audited. Payment systems need to be kept functioning. The agency also needs to collect and store earnings records for another approximately 200 million of us not yet receiving benefits.

“This scale of cuts almost certainly means the agency will struggle to ensure payments are made on time and wage records are accurately collected, stored and kept secure.”