New legislation, the Social Security Customer Service Act would require the Social Security Administration to "reverse" staffing cuts at the agency.

In the first five months of the Trump administration, "more than 7,000 SSA workers were forced out —the largest staffing cut in the agency's history," Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., the bill's sponsor, said in a statement. "The result: a beneficiary-to-staff ratio of 1,480 to one, compared to 480 to one in 1967."

"These cuts are already hitting Americans hard — longer wait times, system outages, understaffed field offices, and delayed benefits. For millions who rely on Social Security, that means real uncertainty," Stevens said.

The bill would:

— Restore agency staffing to end-of-Biden administration levels;
— Require at least 75% of new hires to serve in customer service roles;
— Direct the remaining 25% to critical support and management positions that directly serve beneficiaries.

"While the Social Security Customer Service Act is a positive step to improve service, it addresses only part of a much larger challenge," Shannon Benton, executive director of the Senior Citizens League, told ThinkAdvisor in an email.

"Restoring staffing and customer service capacity is important, but broader reforms, including sustained hiring, modernization, and long-term workforce stability, are still needed. Most importantly, Congress must address Social Security's pending insolvency, which poses the greatest risk to beneficiaries' future," Benton added.

Max Richtman, president and CEO of The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in another email that while the group hasn't taken a position on Stevens' bill, "we have supported similar legislation to reverse the damage that Trump and DOGE have done" at SSA.

The group remains concerned "about the Trump/DOGE gutting of SSA staff, which has caused headaches and delays for beneficiaries attempting to access their earned benefits," Richtman said.

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