Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

📋 Social Security Plans ‘Significant’ Staff Reductions (AARP Article)

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
March 1, 2025
60 replies
13949 views

FROM THE ARTICLE: AARP calls for reassurances from SSA on commitment to customer service.

By Andy Markowitz, AARP.

Published February 28, 2025.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced plans for a “massive” restructuring of its operations on Friday that “will include significant workforce reductions” affecting thousands of jobs.

A Feb. 28 statement from the SSA set a target of reducing the SSA workforce from about 57,000 employees to 50,000, a 12 percent cut.

USE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE: https://www.aarp.org/social-security/ssa-workforce-reductions.html

P

pl48622632

Contributor ⭐

AARP needs to do more to protest the reduction of workforce at SSA.

SummerOnTheWay1Author

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

📎 [3/1/25] I agree @pl48622632 !!! 👍

[*** @pl48622632 wrote:
AARP needs to do more to protest the reduction of workforce at SSA. ***]

GailL1

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

@MarkD524822

If your dad is on his Social Security benefits - Old Age Retirement including spousal, Survivors or Disability - he will not have a problem getting his benefits from anything that is happening in the agency due to personnel or administrative funding.

The Social Security programs have designated funding sources:

1. Payroll Taxes from those currently working

2. Taxes paid on Social Security benefits by beneficiaries

3. Interest we get paid on those special treasuries where the surplus stays prior to getting redeemed when the need arises.

Right now, we are redeeming those surplus special treasuries because what is coming in from those (3) sources is NOT enough to pay current beneficiaries their monthly amount. The Trust Fund balance is dwindling every month. So come about 2032 - 2035, without action by Congress, the Trust Fund balance will be so low that your benefits BY LAW will be reduced automatically. The current estimate is about a 20% reduction.

Yet right now - Congress is adding benefits without adding any funding. We have people in Congress that don’t seem to know how to add, subtract or understand the Social Security system. BTW, we have been warned EVERY YEAR about this condition going back to at least 2010.

IT‘S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . . . .. . . . Roseanne Roseannadanna

J

JohnH409174

Contributor ⭐

AARP is looking to be the ultimate in Milk Toast Generic Lobbies. Grow a spine and stand AGAINST Elon and the felon! You're supposed to be fighting for the older gens. Whatever I give you in membership could just as easily go to ACLU or Public TV and Radio. I'm thinking my money would get much better results from those entities. Remember that Medicaid is two letters away from Medicare. That orange outfit just doesn't care.

GailL1

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

@JohnH409174 wrote: . . . . Remember that Medicaid is two letters away from Medicare.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MEDICARE has designated funding -

(1) payroll taxes for Part A Medicare goes into the Trust Fund.

(2) Part B is funded by premiums that beneficiaries pay OR is paid for them by their state if they are income/asset eligible for one of the Medicare Savings Programs. - those cover 25%; the remaining 75% comes from the General Fund.

MEDICAID is totally funded by state and federal taxes and is a shared program with the states doing the design, implementation and running under a minimum requirement set by the Feds. Eligibility depends on income, resources and assets.

MEDICAID covers lots of different programs covering everything from babies still in the womb to ABLED BODIED CHILDLESS low income folks and in between all those people in need - blind, elderly, disabled, long term care - with a host of related programs.

For the like of me, I cannot figure out why our Federal government reimburses states at a higher percentage (90%) for those ABLED BODIED CHILDLESS being covered because of the ACA expanded medicaid program than those more desperate in their needs where the Feds only reimburse states at a 50% - 70% level.

The CBO estimates that .. . . setting the federal share of medical expenditures for enrollees made eligible by the ACA so that it equals the rate used for other enrollees—would reduce the deficit by $604 BILLION from 2024 to 2032.

https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/58624

So should the AARP support a reduction in this ACA spending mandate?

IT‘S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . . . .. . . . Roseanne Roseannadanna

S

smartin2704

Contributor ⭐

Whoever voted for him, I hope they’re happy!

K

KristinT104072

Contributor ⭐

AARP’s weak-tea “response” to this outrage (“please give us more information about how you’re going to destroy Social Security, because we think many of our members maybe might object, but possibly others might be Trump cult members and we certainly don’t want to risk losing any dues-paying folks so we’ll pretend that we might decide that destroying Social Security is okay once we get that information we’re asking for, but honestly we’d really rather just continue to publish puzzles and celebrity profiles and cartoons poking gentle fun at the aging process instead of advocating for our members”) is pathetic. AARP is supposed to be an advocate for seniors. Advocate, don’t equivocate, for heaven’s sake.

B

BalbonisMoleskine

Conversationalist ⭐⭐

AARP simply doesn't have the influence that you assume and hope.

L

LizM253275

Contributor ⭐

AARP needs to get on the ball and have ALL their members calling their representatives! The Trump administration is going to say what people want to hear and then do what they want. They want to strip Social Security. Look at their actions, not what they are saying!

J

JohnB366070

Contributor ⭐

Social Security is established by the US Congress. The President's job is to execute the policy established by Congress. A massive restructuring is illegal without congressional authorization. Let's organize to stop this before it's too late!

G

GAKKIEZ

Conversationalist ⭐⭐⭐

Not an issue! There is too much inefficiency in most of these programs! Get all employees back in the office and not working from home! Continue investigations into allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse (we all know of at least one person abusing the system).

B

BalbonisMoleskine

Conversationalist ⭐⭐

I have two relatives who are longtime SSA employees. They have worked from home since the pandemic and are highly productive. For example, one is an ALJ. ALJs already hear all cases by phone or video. Thus there is no reason for ALJs to go to the office.

L

LizM253275

Contributor ⭐

I am glad that AARP is waking up to the crisis forming at the Social Security Administration. Please, PLEASE send out an urgent alert to all members to CALL their representatives. Emails are ok, but calls and visits are better. Congress is going into recess soon. People need to show up at their representatives' offices and make their feelings known!

S

SMC58

Contributor ⭐

AARP, we need your leadership. No more games and meaningless clicks to get points for stuff. The planned gutting (or robbing) of social security and medicare benefits is a travesty. DOGE is firing civil servants who support the elderly and the poor while DOGE represents coldblooded billionaires. We must fight to stop this sabotaging of the people's purse!

B

BalbonisMoleskine

Conversationalist ⭐⭐

AARP simply doesn't have the influence that you assume and hope.

Sign up

Login with SSO

Login to the community

Login with SSO