Social Security 'a mess' amid staff cuts, rushed changes, beneficiaries say

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

63% : He has promised to protect Social Security, and every recipient will continue to receive their benefits.
53% : Staffing levels at the Social Security Administration were already at 50-year lows, and the departure of so many workers who answered phones and worked at field-office counters has led to longer lines and phone waits, according to interviews with more than a dozen internal field office and high-level employees.
52% : In Southern California, older people with disabilities are spending hours taking public buses to get to Social Security offices only to be turned away, nonprofit groups said.
51% : The Social Security Administration could end up exempting some from the edict, but as April 14 approaches, calls to the agency have risen by 30% compared with last year, and more callers are getting busy signals or being disconnected, according to data published by Social Security.
49% : The April 14 requirement for online applications does not apply to people seeking disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income or Medicare.
47% : At the same time, the intense focus by Musk's team on weeding out fraud within Social Security -- while top administration officials continue to circulate misinformation about fraud levels -- has led to policy announcements that have caused beneficiaries to worry they might lose access to the system or have their benefits cut.
45% : Those difficulties come as a deadline looms, imposed under the influence of Musk's cost-cutting initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency as the billionaire presidential adviser crusades against what he imagines to be legions of beneficiaries who do not qualify for Social Security benefits.
44% : All told, more than three dozen offices are losing at least a quarter of their employees, with many located in rural areas that supported Trump, according to the agency.
42% : " According to Liz Huston, a spokesperson for the White House, "President Trump has made it clear that he is committed to making the federal government more efficient without compromising mission-critical operations.
42% : During the meetings, Social Security officials candidly acknowledged that visitors were having trouble using the agency's online portal, My SSA, and were visiting field offices in large numbers because they were "afraid of our systems going down."
40% : The White House has grown worried enough about the political fallout from the long lines and wait times that White House officials are pressuring Social Security administrators to reduce the information they put online that could draw attention to problems, according to a person briefed on the discussions.
39% : After all, Trump has promised not to cut Social Security benefits for the 73 million Americans enrolled.
39% : "I didn't know he was going to pull this," said Teresa Boswell, whose vote for Trump in November helped flip Arizona but who found herself fuming outside the Social Security office in Glendale last week, unable to sign up for $1,200 in monthly benefits after she retired from her job processing legal papers.

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