Federal job cuts leave seniors struggling to access Social Security help
One year after a much‑publicized purge of federal workers, critics say the consequences are becoming more visible, especially for the nation's seniors.
"It's very concerning," said Kenneth Williams. "If you think about it, even though they're not changing the law. If you take away the infrastructure that people need to access the benefits, that's going to have the same impact."
Williams is president of the Dallas chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans. The group focuses on protecting benefits geared toward seniors. They organized a protest at a Dallas Social Security office today to call attention to the community‑level impact of federal job cuts, specifically, he says, the loss of some 7,000 workers who once supported the Social Security Administration.
"They're talking about letting people do it online," Williams said. "Well, there's a lot of folks who don't have access to the internet. There are a lot of people who aren't comfortable using computers. You're not going to just replace all of these Social Security offices with online access. That's not going to work. That's going to leave a lot of people out."
Unexpected strain on older adults
And for some, the impact has been unexpected.
"It's just that it takes a toll on you," said Glen Pullen of Dallas. "I mean, for me, it's been extremely scary."
Pullen admits he didn't think the federal job cuts would affect him until they did. Now, he's turning to The Senior Source in Dallas for help navigating the Social Security benefits system, a process he has found incredibly frustrating. And he's not alone, as applying for disability and Medicare has been affected as well.
Longer waits, fewer connections
"So, what we're seeing with our older adults applying for Social Security is that the wait time is double compared to even a few years ago," said Julie Krawczyk at The Senior Source. Krawczyk is the nonprofit's director of the Elder Financial Safety Center. "And so, they're really struggling to get appointments on the phone. You might have waited before, an hour or two. Now you're waiting three to four hours to be able to talk to someone by the phone. And even when you get someone on the phone, they're likely going to say to you, `go online and get an appointment.'"
Krawczyk said calls from seniors needing help accessing Social Security services are up about 50%. Even changing an address now requires an in‑person appointment — and that's not all.
"You have to do ID.me," explains Krawczyk, "which means that you have to upload a photo, you have to take a photo from the computer, and do some other processes that you have to go through to ensure that you're the actual person needing to apply. And that's a challenge for a lot of our older adults to navigate."
Support agencies feeling the pressure
At The Senior Source, about a half‑dozen staffers are trained to help clients access their Social Security benefits. They're the professionals, and yet they still encounter the same frustrations.
"I think the other struggle for us that's also new that has changed is we used to have contact with Social Security," said Krawczyk, "so we would call our contact and be able to work directly and kind of navigate through some of the red tape more quickly. And we don't have that anymore either. So we really are side by side working this, working Social Security with clients in real time."
If you need help navigating the Social Security system right now, those who are comfortable can book an appointment with The Senior Source online. And yes, they answer the phone as well: (214) 823‑5700.
"I think it's unfair to the individuals who need the support," said Krawczyk. "It should definitely be a friendlier process and easier to navigate."
Personal toll on vulnerable seniors
For seniors like Glen Pullen, the stress is constant.
"You lose sleep over it," said Pullen. "It's been horrible for me, you know, thinking about all these things that I couldn't do on my own. So. Thank God for The Senior Source and (staffer) Alixious."