Social Security

Is the future of Social Security in danger? This is why more Americans than ever are rushing to claim benefits

In recent months, more and more people in the U.S. have been applying for Social Security - seemingly motivated by concern over the agency’s future.

Mario Anzuoni

William Allen

British journalist and translator who joined Diario AS in 2013. Focuses on soccer – chiefly the Premier League, LaLiga, the Champions League, the Liga MX and MLS. On occasion, also covers American sports, general news and entertainment. Fascinated by the language of sport – particularly the under-appreciated art of translating cliché-speak.

Update: May 3rd, 2025 05:03 EDT

There has been a sharp increase in the number of Americans applying for Social Security benefits in recent months, with public concern over the future of the Social Security Administration (SSA) apparently playing a role in this spike.

Who claims Social Security benefits in the U.S.?

Each month, the SSA provides benefits to tens of millions of people in the U.S. The agency’s largest group of claimants are retirees, who receive a monthly pension whose size depends on their earnings history and their age when they begin drawing their retirement pay.

The SSA’s beneficiaries also include the survivors of deceased U.S. workers, and Americans who receive disability benefits.

So what has happened to SSA claim numbers?

At an operational meeting at the end of March, an SSA official revealed that the number of pending non-disability Social Security claims had risen to nearly 581,000, compared with 500,000 a year earlier.

At another meeting late last month, the same official revealed that the “surge has continued”, with pending claims up to 614,000. “It’s an extremely high number,” he said.

At the April meeting, another SSA official spoke of a “dramatic increase […] in initial applications for retired worker benefits.” He went on to present figures that showed a particular spike in the number of higher earners who are claiming retirement benefits at 62, the earliest age at which they are allowed to apply.

This is despite the significant drop-off in the amounts Americans can claim if they do not wait until a later age before applying for retirement benefits.

Indeed, if you begin claiming retirement benefits at 62, the maximum monthly check you will receive in 2025 is $2,831; if you wait until 70 before applying, you can get up to $5,108 a month.

Why are more people applying for Social Security benefits?

Analysing the reasons behind the recent increase in Social Security claims in the U.S. - a surge first reported by the Wall Street Journal - the USA Today finance journalist Daniel de Visé pointed to people’s fears over the future of the SSA, amid “upheaval” at the agency.

Such concerns have, in particular, been aroused as Elon Musk, the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has targeted the SSA as part of the DOGE’s attempts to slash federal spending.

Appointed to lead the DOGE by President Donald Trump, Musk has described Social Security as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time”, and has claimed that “waste and fraud in entitlement spending” is “the big one to eliminate”.

The SSA announced in February that it is to reduce its workforce from 57,000 to 50,000 - despite the SSA’s former chief, Martin O’Malley, complaining recently that the body “has been operating at a 50-year low in staffing”.

And amid DOGE cuts, there have also been reports of disruptions such as the Social Security website crashing, recipients being mistakenly told their were no longer getting benefits, and callers facing longer waits to speak to an SSA representative on the telephone.

Albeit it has walked back a more widespread cutting of its phone services, the SSA has restricted claimants’ ability to complete procedures by calling the agency.

“The new Trump administration has thrown Social Security into upheaval,” De Visé writes, “with a cascade of staff cuts, rule changes, website outages and leadership shuffles, a routine that has played out across the federal bureaucracy under the cost-cutting eye of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.”

Is the future of Social Security in danger? This is why more Americans than ever are rushing to claim benefits — Appointed by President Trump to lead the DOGE, Elon Musk has targeted the SSA.Kevin Lamarque

“Afraid they’re not going to claim benefits at all”

At the SSA’s March meeting, officials noted that people’s concerns over the future of the agency - worries which acting commissioner Leland Dudek put down to public “fear mongering” - appear to have persuaded them not to wait any longer to file their benefits claim.

“So what you’re telling me is that […] fear mongering has driven people to claim benefits earlier because they’re afraid they’re not going to claim benefits at all," Dudek asked a staffer. “Yes, you’re exactly right,” was the response.

Yahoo! Finance journalist Kerry Hannon adds that retirees’ rush to apply now may be influenced by the 2024 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report, which forecast that Social Security’s retirement and disability benefits trust fund will be depleted by 2035.

While this would not actually lead to benefits being cut off, explains Paul N. Van de Water of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it would lead to a reduction in the monthly sums paid to Social Security recipients. “Trust fund depletion would trigger large across-the-board cuts,” Van de Water writes.

What other reasons are there for the spike?

The SSA has told USA Today that other major reasons for the uptick in Social Security applications include the increase in baby boomers reaching retirement age in the U.S., and the recent passing of the Social Security Fairness Act - legislation which has raised the amount that certain workers are entitled to.