Millions of Americans who rely on Social Security could soon face delayed payments, according to a stark warning from former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley.
Speaking at a town hall event Monday in Long Island, O’Malley said the agency is on the brink of failing to deliver benefits on time due to deep staffing cuts and widespread operational instability.
“I truly believe there’s going to be some interruption of benefits for some period of time,” O’Malley said. “And I believe that will probably happen in the very near future.”
Over 70 Million Americans at Risk
Social Security supports over 70 million people, including retirees, the disabled, and survivors of deceased workers. For many, it’s their primary source of income.
A delay in payments could leave the country’s most vulnerable residents financially stranded.
The chaos, O’Malley says, stems from recent actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump administration initiative aimed at slashing federal spending.
Under DOGE, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has eliminated 7,000 jobs—nearly 12% of its workforce—causing backlogs in claims processing and ongoing technical outages.
“A System on the Edge of Collapse”
O’Malley, who led the SSA from 2023 to 2024 under President Joe Biden, told CNBC he believes disruptions could begin “within the next 30 to 90 days.”
Lawmakers attending the forum, including Representatives Laura Gillen and Tom Suozzi, echoed the concern. Suozzi questioned the logic behind the cuts:
“Why would you cut 7,000 employees to save 0.06% of the budget from one of the most essential agencies?”
SSA’s acting commissioner, Lee Dudek, defended the downsizing as a necessary step to reduce bureaucracy.
“For too long, SSA has operated on autopilot,” Dudek said in a March 3 statement. “It is time to change just that.”
Elon Musk and DOGE Controversy
Adding fuel to the fire, Elon Musk—now playing a lead role in DOGE’s cost-cutting strategy—recently labeled Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time” in a Joe Rogan interview. The comment was met with harsh backlash from Democrats.
“What is the goal of this disinformation campaign?” asked Sen. Bernie Sanders. “To privatize the most successful government program in history and hand it over to Wall Street.”
Experts Sound the Alarm
Financial experts say O’Malley’s warning isn’t just political theater—it’s a legitimate red flag.
“This isn’t just smoke—it could absolutely lead to fire,” said Michael Ryan of MichaelRyanMoney.com. “Big staffing cuts, office closures, and IT problems—it’s a recipe for the first real payment interruption in the program’s history.”
“SSA is feeling the pressure,” added Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee. “While checks are still going out on time, other critical services are crumbling. That makes delays feel increasingly inevitable.”
Not everyone agrees. Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group, argues the disruption is overstated.
“The move to online applications caused frustration, especially among older recipients, but reopening phone lines helped fix that. We’re not seeing more interruptions than before DOGE.”
What’s Next for Social Security?
Although benefits are still being delivered as of now, the SSA’s internal restructuring has gutted key research partnerships and shut down regional offices. Programs like the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium have been dismantled.
Ryan warns the agency is being pushed too far:
“SSA already runs with administrative costs below 1%. You can’t slash staff and close offices and expect the system to keep running like nothing happened.”
O’Malley called for immediate legislative intervention and public outcry.
“People are going to bring heat to members of Congress who helped facilitate the breaking of their Social Security,” he said.
With millions of Americans watching closely, any delay in payments could spark national outrage—and political consequences.