Social Security payments under threat as expert warns of “system collapse” within 90 days

Recipients of support from the Social Security Administration (SSA) are waiting anxiously for news on the Trump administration’s proposed cuts, with experts warning that there could be an interruption of payments.

President Donald Trump has insisted that he is not planning to cut Social Security programs, but he is approving sweeping cuts for the SSA, the agency in charge of distributing the payments. Last month plans to cut around 7,000 employees - around 12% of the total workforce - were released. It’s thought that this could cause problems for beneficiaries.

Former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley told CNBC that recipients of any SSA program should brace themselves for problems in the near future. “Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” O’Malley explained. “I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days.”

In 2024 more than 70 million American received benefits from the SSA and the overall spending was about 20% of the entire federal budget. Trump has maintained that he doesn’t want to reduce the payments offered to recipients but efforts from Elon Musk’s DOGE to cut the agency’s budget will almost certainly affect the quality of the service provided.

Who could be affected by Social Security delays?

All programs overseen by the SSA focus on getting much-needed financial support to retirees, those on low incomes and people with disabilities. A survey from AASRP found that around 20% of Americans aged 50 or older have no retirement savings, meaning that a single month of delay to their Social Security payments could be catastrophic to their financial situation.

“It’s about retirement benefits,” explained John Hale, a 25-year veteran of the SSA. “It’s about survivors’ benefits, and about payments to people with disabilities.”

“One of the things that concerns us, and I think concerns those people, is there’s a bunch of billionaires who are making decisions about this service who will never need Social Security,” Hale added. “They’ll never have a family member who needs Social Security. They are out of touch with the real world.”

This year a record 4.18 million Americans will reach the traditional retirement age of 65. The baby boomers generation will represent a major increase in the burden on the SSA. There is real concern that this is a dangerous time for the federal government to approve widespread cuts to the agency in charge of getting the money out to those that need it.

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