Thedelay in Social Security has increased to more than a million cases, all due to lack of personnel, as more and more Baby Boomers retire in the system. Mark Searight, deputy assistant in the Office of Inspector General, said the backlog was growing by more than 1.5 million cases. This could result in handfuls of people being left without benefits.
In the process of an audit, Searight stated that they found that the backlog of cases grew by more than 1.5 million, resulting in 4.3 million cases by the year 2023. While in the year 2022, the Social Security Administration SSA) also went through a significant reduction in staff, losing nearly 400 workers in its processing centers.
Social Security Understaffed — What Is Going On?
“Our recommendations were primarily focused on developing a workload and staffing plan to help them reduce outstanding transactions, and then also setting targets for each of the transaction types over a period of time to ensure they do not remain open.” for too long,” Searight said.
“However, their response to us was that while they agree, they need more funding and they need ongoing funding to be able to hire and train employees and then be able to make information technology improvements in the processing centers.”
SSA in Crisis, 4.3 Million Cases in Limbo
Searight said much of the backlog includes complicated cases in which a beneficiary may be earning too much and a review is necessary. But in several of the backlogged cases, SSA’s delay in resolving the case caused a beneficiary to face significant penalties for overpayments that were not initially identified, resulting in months or years more of payments in excess to collect.
“The main cause of the backlog is due to staffing issues and outdated technology,” said Kevin Thompson, financial expert and founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group. “The legislative committee refuses to allocate adequate money to these programs, while the House GOP continues to push bills that include $450 million in cuts to an already weakened agency.”
Thompson said that “SSA’s understaffing is due to an economic issue and will likely not be resolved without adequate federal dollars.” “There is not enough to cover the amount of time necessary to cover the time allocated to serve people”, “This is becoming a mathematical problem in which more people enter the system every day and there are fewer and fewer employees than the “they attend.”
Baby Boomers Flood the System
Michael Ryan, another financial expert and founder of michaelryanmoney.com, called the Social Security backlog a “disaster, plain and simple.” “Social Security offices are operating with little fuel. They have fewer people working there than they did 25 years ago, but millions more people need help,” Ryan said. “No wonder things are falling apart.”
He also expressed: “For people waiting for a disability application, it is a nightmare. Just seven months to get an initial decision? That’s almost double what it was a few years ago. Imagine not being able to work and having to wait so long just to find out if you will get any help.”
Ryan said that as the backlog grows, many Americans are completely losing faith in Social Security. “We have to solve this, and quickly. Congress needs to increase real funding, not just Band-Aids,” Ryan said. “We need more people to work in Social Security, better computers, more intelligent processes.”