Social Security News: February 2025

Feb 28, 2025

7,000 To Be Let Go

I’m seeing a report that the total layoffs at Social Security will be 7,000. It’s mathematically impossible to achieve this without losing mission critical personnel.

Even If All Of This Was A Good Idea, It Would Still Be Insane To Do It All At The Same Time

MEMORANDUM

Date:February 28, 2025

To:Senior Staff

From:Leland C. Dudek /s/

Acting Commissioner

Subject:Executive Personnel Assignments – INFORMATION I have several announcements.

The following Senior Staff have announced their separations. I wish all of these dedicated employees the best after their many years of public service:

Christopher Ferris, Associate Commissioner for Security and Emergency Preparedness, Office of Budget, Finance, and Management
Joseph Lytle, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Hearings Operations
Craig Bedard, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Strategy, Learning, and Workforce Development, Office of Human Resources (OHR)
Kristen Medley-Proctor, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, OHR
Frank Barry, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Customer Service, Office of Operations (DCO)
Howard Bowles, Regional Commissioner, Denver/Seattle, DCO
Rose Mary Buehler, Regional Commissioner, Atlanta, DCO
Vikash Chhagan, Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management and Operations Support, Seattle, DCO
Sue Cumming, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Public Service and Operations Support, DCO
Ray Egan, Regional Commissioner, New York, DCO
Tonya Freeman, Deputy Regional Commissioner, Kansas City, DCO
Roderick Hairston, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Electronic Services and Technology, DCO
Rick Lenoir, Regional Commissioner, Chicago, DCO
Joe Lopez, Assistant Regional Commissioner for Management and Operations Support, Dallas, DCO
LeeAnn Stuever, Regional Commissioner, Philadelphia, DCO
Deon Wilson, Deputy Regional Commissioner, Dallas, DCO
Timothy Amerson, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Information Security, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
Stephanie Hall, Senior Advisor, OCIO
Timothy May, Deputy Associate Commissioner for Information Security, OCIO
Joseph Stenaka, Executive Advisor for Cybersecurity, OCIO
Jeremy Weibley, Executive Advisor for IT Transformation, OCIO
Laura Haltzel, Associate Commissioner for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy
Dennis Foley, Deputy Associate General Counsel for Program Law, Office of the General Counsel
Natalie Lu, Senior Advisor

To support President Trump’s priorities to streamline functions, I am making the following organizational changes:

Historically, SSA has operated with a regional structure consisting of ten regional offices. We can no longer afford to operate in this fashion. We will reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions as follows:

Northeast Region – Current Boston, New York, and Philadelphia regions
Southeast Region – Current Atlanta region
Mid-West/West Region – Current Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, and Seattle regions
Southwest Region – Current Dallas and San Francisco regions

In addition, we have an outdated, inefficient organizational structure at Headquarters, so I am reorganizing Headquarters components. We will now have seven Deputy Commissioner level organizations as follows:

1. Deputy Commissioner for Operations

2. Deputy Commissioner for Disability Adjudication
3. Deputy Commissioner for Mission Support
4. Deputy Commissioner for External Affairs
5. Deputy Commissioner for Legal and Policy
6. Chief Information Officer
7. Chief Actuary

Deputy Commissioner for Operations

Doris Diaz will remain Acting Deputy Commissioner (DC).
Delma Cardona is Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC), DCO.
Sean Balser is Acting ADC, DCO.
Anatoly Shnaider is Regional Commissioner (RC), Northeast Region.
Darrell Sheffield is Acting RC, Southeast Region.
Linda Kerr-Davis is RC, Mid-West/West Region.
Travis Dodson is RC, Southwest Region.

In addition, I am realigning all Processing Centers to report to the Office of Central Operations and all Teleservice Centers to report to the newly formed Office of Telephone Services (OTS). Chris Chapple is AC, OTS and Tiffany Countess is Acting DAC, OTS.
I am also merging the Office of Public Service and Operations Support and the Office of Electronic Services and Technology to form the Office of Analysis, Integration, and Performance Oversight (OAIPO). Jeremiah Schofield is AC, OAIPO. Sam Richardson and Karen Girardeau are DACs.

Deputy Commissioner for Disability Adjudication I am establishing the Office of Disability Adjudication (ODA), which will be comprised of the Offices of Hearings Operations (OHO), Appellate Operations, Disability Determinations (ODD), and Quality Review. Jay Ortis, will serve as the Acting Deputy Commissioner (DC), ODA, concurrently while serving as Acting Chief Administrative Law Judge. Jim Parikh is ADC, ODA.

Chad Poist will be ADC, ODA. Hank McKnelly will be AC for the Office of Hearing Operations (OHO). While Chad continues to serve as Acting Deputy Chief of Staff, Hank McKnelly will serve as Acting ADC, ODA. Monique Cephas will be DAC, OHO. Leroy Weeks is the Assistant Associate Commissioner (AAC) for the newly formed Office of Management. James Van Der Schalie will be AC, ODD.

Deputy Commissioner for Mission Support

I am combining our administrative support functions in the Office of Budget, Finance, and Management and the Office of Human Resources to form the Office of Mission Support (OMS). Sean Brune will serve as the Acting DC, OMS. His permanent position will be ADC, OMS, overseeing the Offices of Financial Policy and Program Integrity (OFPPI), Budget (OB), and Acquisition and Grants. Florence Felix-Lawson will serve as the Chief Human Capital Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and ADC, OM. Florence will oversee the Offices of Human Resources, and the newly formed Office of Facilities and Security Management (OFSM), which merges the Offices of Facilities and Logistics Management, and Security and Emergency Preparedness. Jennifer Stevenson is AC, Office of Human Resources. Jenni Greenlee is AAC, Lauren Palguta and Mary Ann Jett are Deputy, AACs (DAAC).

Dan Callahan is AC, OFSM. Marc Mason is AAC, OFSM, Tim Beavers and Dawn McCrobie are DAACs. Christian Hellie is AC, OFPPI.

Also in OMS, I am reassigning all agency budget functions and employees to OB. Due to their unique nature, the ODD budget staff will remain with ODD.

I am also reassigning all agency facilities and security functions and employees to OFSM.

Deputy Commissioner for External Affairs: To improve our responsiveness to Congress, our stakeholders, and the public, I am merging the Office of Communications (OCOMM) and the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs (OLCA) to form the Office of External Affairs (OEA). Jeffrey Buckner will serve is Acting DC, OEA. His permanent position will be ADC, OEA/OCOMM. Dustin Brown will serve as Acting ADC, OEA/OLCA. Dawn Bystry will be AC, OCOMM. Erik Hansen is AC, OLCA. Kala Shah, currently the Executive Secretary, will be a Senior Advisor, OEA.

Stephen McGraw will be Acting Executive Secretary in the Office of the Commissioner.

Deputy Commissioner for Legal and Policy: To increase our effectiveness in implementing the Administration’s priorities, I am merging the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy (ORDP), and the Office of Labor Management and Employee Relations (OLMER), to form the Office of Legal and Policy (OLP). Mark Steffensen, currently a Senior Advisor in OC, is Acting DC, OLP and Acting General Counsel. Stephen Evangelista will be the ADC, OLP overseeing Policy. We will soon name an ADC overseeing Legal and OLMER.

Susan Wilschke is AC, ODP. Bob Weathers is DAC, ODP. Jessica Burns MacBride will remain AC in the Office of Income Security Programs (OISP) and Anya Olsen is Acting DAC, OISP. Eddie Taylor is AC, OLMER.

The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics; the Office of Data Exchange, Policy Publications, and International Negotiations; and parts of the Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support will be realigned to the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Chief Information Officer

Joseph Cunningham, who has been serving as the Acting Deputy, AC for the Office of Information Security (OIS) since December 2024, is the Acting AC, OIS and Acting Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

Consistent with other organizational changes that I have made to align like mission functions, I am reassigning all agency employees in the IT Specialist (2210) occupational series to OCIO.

Please join me in congratulating our colleagues on their new assignments. I will continue to update you as we move further along with our streamlining efforts, but please know that we will continue to review the agency structure and explore additional consolidations and elimination of redundant functions. I am counting on each of you for your support and continued collaboration during this transition.

Edited to make this memo a bit less unreadable than the original.

Feb 27, 2025

Don’t Let Them Panic You

A press release:

Social Security Announces Options to its Workforce
The following message was sent to agency employees today:
The Social Security Administration (SSA) will soon implement agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions. Through these massive reorganizations, offices that perform functions not mandated by statute may be prioritized for reduction-in-force actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing. The agency may reassign employees from non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions (e.g., field offices, teleservice centers, processing centers). Reassignments may be involuntary and may require retraining for new workloads.
VOLUNTARY REASSIGNMENTS
Employees interested in voluntarily being reassigned to a mission critical position should indicate their interest here Reassignment Questionnaire by March 14, 2025.
VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVES
Employees who do not wish to undergo the restructuring process may elect to separate from federal service through retirement or resignation. To further support employees considering these options, SSA is offering the following to ALL EMPLOYEES:
VOLUNTARY EARLY RETIREMENT (VERA) OR “EARLY OUT”
Availability: VERA is now available to employees in all components and positions, with no exclusions. Please see eligibility criteria below.
Separation Window: VERA is available from March 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. Employees not eligible now or who wish to retire later in the year under early out may do so, but may be subject to restructuring activities. Employees who are not yet eligible for voluntary early retirement, but who would like to apply later in the calendar year should alert management of their intent to do so and work with their servicing benefits specialists to process their cases as their dates become due. All eligible employees taking early retirement must separate by December 31, 2025.
Eligibility: To be eligible for early out, employees must:
Have 20 years of creditable service and be at least 50 years of age or have at least 25 years of creditable service at any age (this must include 5 years of civilian service).
Must be serving under a non-time-limited appointment.
Have been continuously on SSA's rolls at least 30 days prior to January 17, 2025.
Cannot be in receipt of an involuntary separation decision for misconduct or unsatisfactory performance.
Note: Retirement may affect your Federal Health Insurance eligibility. Please contact your Servicing Personnel Office (SPO) with questions.
VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS (VSIP)
Availability: VSIP will be available until noon EST on March 14 to all employees electing to separate from service across all components and positions agencywide. VSIP is limited and available on a first come basis. VSIP may be paid for an optional retirement (full retirement age), voluntary early retirement (VERA), or resignation. VSIP is not available to employees who are participating in the Deferred Resignation Program.
Eligibility:
Employees must:
Be serving in an appointment without time limit;
Be currently employed by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government for a continuous period of at least 3 years;
Be serving in a position covered by an agency VSIP plan (all SSA employees are covered in the agency plan);
Apply for and receive approval for a VSIP from the agency making the VSIP offer; and
Not be included in any of the ineligibility categories listed below.
Employees in the following categories are not eligible for a VSIP:
Reemployed annuitants;
Have a disability such that the individual is or would be eligible for disability retirement;
Have received a decision notice of involuntary separation for misconduct or poor performance;
Previously received any VSIP from the Federal Government;
During the 36-month period preceding the date of separation, performed service for which a student loan repayment benefit was paid, or is to be paid;
During the 24-month period preceding the date of separation, performed service for which a recruitment or relocation incentive was paid, or is to be paid; and
During the 12-month period preceding the date of separation, performed service for which a retention incentive was paid, or is to be paid.
Separation Window: Employees must opt in by March 14 and separate from the agency no later than April 19, 2025. Employees may be placed on administrative leave through April 19, 2025.
How to Sign Up: Employees must complete the VSIP Sign Up as soon as possible, but no later than March 14, 2025 noon EST. Please let your manager know immediately if you sign up for VSIP.
Note: Completing the form does not guarantee VSIP.
Incentive Payment: Payments will be the following amounts for the grade level of your permanent position. All payments are subject to taxes and normal deductions from income. Employees are strongly encouraged to read the rules for VSIP payments.
Up to GS 8 $15,000
GS 9 – 12 $20,000
GS 13 and up $25,000
OPTIONAL RETIREMENT
Employees who have reached their full retirement age may apply for optional retirement at any time. Employees serving under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) should see the OPM eligibility information for FERS, which is generally 30 years of service, plus reaching minimum retirement age. Employees serving under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) should refer to the OPM eligibility information for CSRS, which is generally 30 years of service and age 55. Additional provisions and options are available for both FERS and CSRS.
RESIGNATION
Employees may resign from federal service at any time. Employees who resign would be eligible for a payout of their annual leave and may be eligible to apply for a Deferred Retirement when they reach their minimum retirement age. Please see the attached table explaining the differences between resignations and retirements and the benefits that would apply.
OBTAINING FURTHER INFORMATION
General retirement information is available on the Benefits Portal. The Benefits Portal also includes information about accessing the GRB Platform, which provides calculators for computing estimated retirement benefits. We strongly encourage employees to use the retirement calculators in the GRB Platform to obtain initial annuity estimates and to request an official annuity computation. You may also contact your SPO (listed below) with questions.

Note that employees have the option of asking reassignment to a “mission critical” position which are those in field offices, teleservice centers and processing centers. That certainly sounds like those already in a “mission critical” position have little to fear. Remember they are deliberately trying to induce panic. Make smart decisions.

There’s also this from the Washington Post:

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Office of Personnel Management to rescind directives that initiated the mass firing of probationary workers across the government, ruling that the terminations were probably illegal, as a group of labor unions argued in court. U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered OPM to rescind its previous directives to more than two dozen agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Science Foundation and others identified in a lawsuit. The ruling — a temporary restraint on the government that will be revisited in the coming weeks — is one of the biggest roadblocks so far to President Donal Trump’s effort to slash the federal workforce.

And this lawsuit about OPM’s powers is far from the only theory being pursued to block the layoffs. DOGE has done a terrible job of minding the details and it is hurting them in court.

You Might Say That Social Security Employees Are Concerned

Here's a chart of hits on this blog dating back to 2011.

Click on image to view full size

Unsolicited Advice For Frank Bisignano

Don’t walk away from the job as Social Security Commissioner. RUN!

Who’s Going To Maintain The Website?

From Government Executive:
… Feds in the transformation office received emails Monday informing them that they will be fired, one affected employee told Nextgov/FCW. SSA didn’t respond to questions on the status of the employees in affected offices.
“Your further employment at the agency would not be in the public interest,” read the memo emailed to them on Monday. They didn’t get any advance notice, the affected employee said.
With the office’s elimination, it’s not clear what will happen to the agency’s website, the affected employee further told Nextgov/FCW, as that office housed the SSA team that works on SSA.gov, the online front door to the agency that provides critical benefits to millions of Americans.
Work to overhaul that website, which was recognized with a Service to the Citizen award in 2023, was ongoing.
“If there's a website problem, I don’t know who's gonna fix it,” said Betsy Beaumon, the agency’s former chief transformation officer under the Biden administration who was recently chosen to receive a Fed100 award for her work last year. “There are some contractors who do some of the actual hands-on work, but the people that work with them are on this team.” …

Feb 26, 2025

At Last Five Regional Commissioners Resign

From Government Executive::

Most of the Social Security Administration’s regional commissioners have decided to retire at the end of this week, following mysterious meetings with agency leaders about plans to slash its workforceAt least five of the eight regional commissioners whose offices oversee and support the agency’s frontline offices across the country are leaving this week, according to a source familiar with the agency and an SSA employee not authorized to speak on the record. …

“After 35 years of rewarding service with the Social Security Administration, I have decided to retire from my position as regional commissioner in the Western region, effective February 28, 2025,” one regional commissioner, Howard Bowles, wrote in an internal email obtained by Government Executive, though he did not specify the reason for his departure.. “It has truly been an honor to serve the American people during my tenure.”
Regional commissioners LeeAnn Stuever, Rick Lenoir, Rose Mary Buehler and Raymond Egan are also leaving, according to a source familiar with the situation. …

To put it mildly, this is an earthquake. Almost inconceivable.

Union On Threat Of RIFs

Subject: Urgent: Rumors of 50% SSA Staff Reduction (Read on Non-Duty Time)

Reply-To:

The Union has been made aware of reports that the Acting Commissioner has requested a plan to reduce Social Security staff by 50%. While unofficially confirmed, such a move could have a devastating impact on our jobs, the services we provide, and the communities we serve.

We urge you to be prepared—download your personal files and stay informed.

Now is the time to take action. Contact your Members of Congress and tell them how these cuts would harm the public. Stand with AFGE to fight for our jobs and the people who rely on us. AFGE is better with friends, encourage people to join: https://join.afge.org/.

The very basics if you are illegally terminated (this is not legal advice and should not be taken as legal advice):

1. Understand the reason for termination and remain professional.

2. Have your Official Personnel File (OPF) saved and/or printed, including your last 3 PACS assessments.

3. Be prepared to leave the office without much notice.

4. Appeal the Decision (If Applicable)
*If you believe your termination was unjust, consider filing an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) within 30 days. You must use a private email address:
link to e-file: https://e-appeal.mspb.gov/etk-mspb-appeals-prod/login.request.do
*If you were terminated for discrimination (race, gender, disability, etc.), file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

5. Be prepared to leave the office without much notice.

6. Apply for Unemployment Benefits.

Set up a meeting place with office coworkers if this should happen and share your personal contact information with each other.

Stay informed. Stay united.

50% Staff Reduction Coming?

From The American Prospect:

The Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) requested in a meeting on Tuesday that managers present him with a plan for a 50 percent reduction in staff, a mass firing that could affect tens of thousands of employees across the country. ...
“I’m getting conflicting reports on what was discussed in that meeting,” said Rich Couture, spokesperson for the Social Security General Committee of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), adding that some reports indicated that field offices would be spared. But one manager present at the meeting indicated that the 50 percent trim was at all levels. And cuts that have dribbled out over the past several days appear to impact field offices where a majority of SSA employees work. ...
In an email to the Prospect, SSA would not confirm any reductions in its workforce beyond the abolition of two small internal offices announced this week. “We have not set any reduction targets, however we will continue to pursue efficiencies within the agency and align like missions,” an SSA spokesperson said. “We have no further information at this time.” ...

Anything like this would, of course, render the Social Security Administration immediately incapable of carrying out any of its functions. This might not be popular with voters.

SSA Believes They Can Get Out “Most” WEP/GPO Payments By End Of March

From a press release:

Today, the Social Security Administration announced it is immediately beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a "non-covered pension") because they did not pay Social Security taxes. The Social Security Fairness Act ends WEP and GPO. …

“The agency’s original estimate of taking a year or more now will only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation. The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible.” …

Many beneficiaries will be due a retroactive payment because the WEP and GPO offset no longer apply as of January 2024. Most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, which will be deposited into their bank account on record with Social Security.
Many of these people will also receive higher monthly benefits, which will first be reflected in the benefit payment they receive in April. Depending on factors such as the type of Social Security benefit received and the amount of the person's pension, the change in payment amount will vary from person to person.
Anyone whose monthly benefit is adjusted, or who will get a retroactive payment, will receive a mailed notice from Social Security explaining the benefit change or retroactive payment. Most people will receive their retroactive payment two to three weeks before they receive their notice in the mail, because the President understands how important it is to pay people what they are due right away. Social Security is expediting payments using automation and will continue to handle many complex cases that must be done manually, on an individual case-by-case basis. Those complex cases will take additional time to update the beneficiary record and pay the correct benefits.
Social Security urges beneficiaries to wait until April to ask about the status of their retroactive payment, since these payments will process incrementally into March. Since the new monthly payment amount will begin with the April payment, beneficiaries should wait until after receiving their April payment, before contacting Social Security with questions about their monthly benefit amount. …

Most could mean 51%. Just how many will require manual calculation? Where will the staff come from to do those manual calculations?

Feb 25, 2025

Office Of Civil Rights Abolished; Employees Fired

The Office of Civil Rights at Social Security has been abolished. The employees of that office have been placed on Administrative Leave for 30 days before being fired.

Performative Cruelty

One thing that has helped me understand Donald Trump, both in his first term in office and now, is Josh Marshall’s theory of performative cruelty. The extraordinary cruelty of Trump’s time in office isn’t the lamentable excesses of an ideological zealot. Trump believes in nothing. The cruelty itself is the point. In Marshall’s words, “the heart of Trumpism is not any policy but performative cruelty, inflicting maximum harm on those outside the tribal fold, and extending the benefits of power and the powers of state for those inside the fold.” That gains extraordinary loyalty from those who regard themselves as being inside the tribe and the fear of those outside the fold. The end result is power for Trump.

The lesson I take from this is to be unafraid or at least to not betray fear. Fear feeds Trump. Fight back as best you can. Of course it’s not hard for me to affect fearlessness. I’m in the process of retiring. (I plan to continue the blog.) I know it’s terribly difficult for those with legitimate fears of harm and that’s many, perhaps most, Social Security employees.

I will say that while the performative cruelty was ugly during the first Trump Administration and is much uglier this time around, it necessarily inspires great revulsion among many. Republican lawmakers are already facing hostile receptions when they hold town halls. Those matter. Remember the Tea Party? The Trump Administration is faring extremely poorly in court. Maybe the Supreme Court will bail out Trump every time but I strongly doubt it. The legal bad faith from this Administration is just stunning. I’ve been practicing law for almost 50 years. Bad faith is the kiss of death in anything other than the very short term. It may help you win one battle but it will definitely lose you the war. Any attorney who represents clients in the way that the Trump Administration’s attorneys are doing will be extraordinarily unsuccessful. See Trump’s legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. It’s no accident that attorneys who went down this road were completely unsuccessful and some lost their law licenses and a few are facing criminal prosecution.

Feb 24, 2025

Office Of Transformation Closes; Employees Placed On Administrative Leave

From a press release:

The Social Security Administration today announced the closing of a component within the agency, the Office of Transformation. Employees in this office will be put on administrative leave effective today. …

A Win For Government Employees

From Government Executive:

An independent federal oversight agency has deemed at least some of President Trump’s mass firings of probationary period employees unlawful, creating a pathway for those employees to regain their jobs.
The Office of Special Counsel, the agency responsible for investigating illegal actions taken against federal employees, issued its decision for six employees, each at different agencies. While the decision was technically limited in scope, it could have immediate impact on all terminated staff at those six agencies and could set a wide-ranging precedent across government. It has not been made public and was provided to Government Executive by a source within the government. OSC, which did not provide the document to Government Executive, verified its authenticity. ...
Trump earlier this month fired [Special Counsel] Dellinger from his job, but a federal court reversed that decision and reinstated him to his post. The Trump administration has challenged that ruling up to the Supreme Court, but justices there last week declined to overturn Dellinger’s reinstatement. ...
After publication of this story, OSC released a statement confirming its findings and suggesting Dellinger is actively contemplating expanding them to include far more federal workers.
"The special counsel believes other probationary employees are similarly situated to the six workers for whom he currently is seeking relief," OSC said. "Dellinger is considering ways to seek relief for a broader group without the need for individual filings with OSC." ...

Never Mind

Tense Times In Baltimore

From the Baltimore Banner:

... “Everything was smooth and very positive, and it seemed like this was a great place to work. But now, no one knows anything,” said a Baltimore-area Social Security employee who has been with the agency less than a year. “I still don’t know if I’m going to have a job.”
That employee, as well as other current Social Security workers, asked for anonymity out of fear of being targeted by the administration. ...
The Trump administration said it is terminating most probationary workers across federal agencies. About 4% of Social Security’s 58,627 employees nationwide had less than one year on the job as of spring 2024, according to the most recent federal data available. ...

I can't copy them here but the photos that accompany this article are evocative and depressing, more so than the writing and the writing is good.

Feb 23, 2025

A Message To Staff

From: ^Human Resources Internal Communications

Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2025 10:57 AM

Subject: Time Sensitive: 'Accomplishments' Assignment

A Message to All SSA Employees

Subject: Time Sensitive: ‘Accomplishments’ Assignment

You should have received an email yesterday from the sender “HR” requesting that you reply to that email with 5 bullets about your accomplishments last week. This email is a legitimate assignment and should not be reported as spam. You must take the action requested by the deadline.

Things to do:

Review your work over the last week and identify the most impactful mission-critical work accomplishments that advances our public service mission, as well as the Administration’s priorities. This is an opportunity to highlight the important work you do that helps impact the lives of those we serve.

Reply to the email from HR with 5 bullets describing your accomplishments:

Don’t include any sensitive or confidential information, including details that aren’t available to the public.

Where relevant, include the specific SSA programs or operational priorities that your accomplishments support.

Include your immediate supervisor in the cc line of your response.

Deadline:

Your response to the HR email is due no later than 11:59pm EST on Monday, February 24, 2025.

COVID Killed 1.7 Million In U.S.; Saves $205 Billion For Social Security

From The Effect Of US COVID-19 Excess Mortality On Social Security Outlays, a study by Hanke Heun-Johnson, Darius Lakdawalla, Julian Reif and Bryan Tysinger:

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant excess mortality among the US population, impacting the future outlays of the US Social Security Administration (SSA) Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. This study aimed to estimate the net effects of pandemic-induced excess deaths on OASDI liabilities ... The pandemic resulted in approximately 1.7 million excess deaths among individuals aged 25 and older between 2020 and 2023. These premature deaths reduced future retirement payments, which increased the Social Security fund by $294 billion. However, this gain was offset by reductions in future payroll tax flows ($58 billion) and increased payments to surviving spouses and children ($32 billion), resulting in a net impact of $205 billion. ...

For better or worse, DOGE has probably ended this sort of research.

Feb 22, 2025

Another Insult From Musk; Unions Fight Back

From the Washington Post:

All federal workers will shortly receive an email asking what they did last week — and that if employees fail to respond, it will be taken as a resignation, Elon Musk wrote in a post on X Saturday. …
From a press release:

AFSCME, Alliance for Retired Americans, AFT Challenge DOGE’s Access, Executed by Unconfirmed, Acting Official, to Confidential, Private Data of Hundreds of Millions of Americans

Suit filed on heels of SSA Acting Head’s Departure Amid Concerns about DOGE Access to Data
Baltimore, MD — In a new lawsuit filed on Friday night, retirees and unions sued to halt DOGE’s unprecedented, unlawful seizure of personal, confidential, private and sensitive data from the Social Security Administration, without any express authority. Such access has been granted by an unlawful acting official, installed at SSA with disregard for the rules governing such appointments. ..

More On The Elevation Of Dudek — With A Small Role For Andrew Saul

From Lisa Rein at the Washington Post:

Leaders of the Social Security Administration had just opened an investigation into a career employee they believed was improperly sharing information with Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team when President Donald Trump elevated the employee this week to acting commissioner. …
It’s not clear what data Dudek shared, but his actions raised enough alarm that he may have violated privacy and tax laws that senior officials placed him on paid leave as they launched their investigation. The officials, including attorneys in the general counsel’s office, also were notified late last week that Dudek had sent harassing emails to employees in the agency’s personnel and security divisions to rush them to let several engineers hired by DOGE start work and gain access to agency computer systems. The officials pushed back, saying that they had not completed background investigations into the new hires….
When the [DOGE] team learned last week that Dudek would be investigated, the chief information officer called acting commissioner Michelle King to demand answers. Then, on the Sunday of Presidents’ Day weekend, King received an email announcing that Trump had appointed Dudek to replace her. After being effectively forced out, King abruptly retired after three decades of service, the three individuals said. Her acting chief of staff, Tiffany Flick, also retired. …
In his first days on the job, Dudek has made bold moves that are highly unusual for someone in an acting role. He has slashed the agency’s research program, restructured numerous departments, announced the hires of new political staff, and made personnel changes that include the demotion of the career senior executive who was involved in placing him on paid leave last week, according to internal personnel announcements obtained by The Washington Post. …
“If I were them, I would want to get my permanent person in as fast as possible,” said Andrew Saul, who served as Social Security commissioner during Trump’s first term. “The situation is not good, obviously.” Saul said he recommended King, then deputy commissioner for operations, to Trump’s transition team after his election in November. “I knew she’d hold the ship down.” …

Picture Of The Week

Feb 21, 2025

Office Of Analytics Review And Oversight Dissolved

Update: And here's the press release.

SSA Ending External Research