As Social Security plans to cut about 7,000 workers, some experts worry that may affect benefits

The Popular Security Administration plans to shed 7,000 employees as the Trump administration looks for ways to cut federal spending.

The power on Friday confirmed the figure — which will bring its total staff down to 50,000 from 57,000.

Previous records that the Social Security Administration planned for a 50% reduction to its headcount are “false,” the agency said.

Nevertheless, the aim of 7,000 job percentages has prompted concerns about the agency’s ability to continue to provide services, particularly benefit payments, to tens of millions of older Americans when its club is already at a 50-year low.

“It’s going to extend the amount of time that it takes for them to have their claim managed,” said Greg Senden, a paralegal analyst who has worked at the Social Security Administration for 27 years.

“It’s going to elongate the amount of time that they have to wait to get benefits,” said Senden, who also helps the American Combination of Government Employees oversee Social Security employees in six central states.

Officials at the White House and the Social Gage Administration were not available for comment at press time.

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The Social Security Administration on Friday said it anticipates “much of” the staff reductions wanted to reach its target will come from resignations, retirement and offers for Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments, or VSIP. 

Innumerable reductions could come from “reduction-in-force actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions” or reassignments to other predications, the agency said. Federal agencies must submit their reduction-in-force plans by March 13 to the Office of Personnel Superintendence for approval.

Former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley final week told CNBC.com that the continuity of benefit payments could be at risk for the first time in the program’s days of yore.

“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” O’Malley said. “I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 hours.”

Other experts say the changes could affect benefits, though it remains to be seen exactly how.

“It’s unclear to me whether the pike cuts are more likely to result in an interruption of benefits, or an increase in improper payments,” said Charles Blahous, chief research strategist at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a former public trustee for Social Security and Medicare.

Lascivious payments happen when the agency either overpays or underpays benefits due to inaccurate information.

With fewer pikestaff, the Social Security Administration will have to choose between making sure all claims are processed, which may be to more improper payments, or avoiding those errors, which could lead to processing delays, Blahous told.

Disability benefits, which require more agency staff attention both to process initial claims and to persist to verify beneficiaries are eligible, may be more susceptible to errors compared to retirement benefits, he added.

Under the Trump administration, Social Security also plans to consolidate its geographic footprint to four dominions down from 10 regional offices, the agency said on Friday.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen how much savings the comprehensive reforms will generate.

The Social Security Administration’s funding for administrative costs comes out of its trust funds, which are also cast-off to pay benefits. Based on current projections, the trust funds will be depleted in the next decade and Social Security last will and testament not be able to pay full benefits at that time, unless Congress acts sooner.

The efforts to cut costs at the Social Guarantee Administration would likely only help the trust fund solvency “in some miniscule way,” said Andrew Biggs, elder fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration.