Social Security staffer says people could miss payments ‘for months’ after Trump changes

President Donald Trump’s move to shrink the Social Security Administration could result in some not receiving payments “for months,” a staffer told The Washington Post this week.

The staffer, who worked out of Baltimore and deals with payment systems, warned the post that nearly a quarter of his team is gone or will soon be gone. He told the newspaper that workers with top software skills are leaving for private sector jobs, and that will leave the administration without many of the workers who update the system and fix glitches. That includes, per the staffer, the exit of many of the individuals who can fix glitches that stop payments.

“That has to get cleaned up on a case-by-case basis, and the experts in how to do that are leaving,” he told The Post. “We will have cases that get stuck, and they’re not going to be able to get fixed. People could be out of benefits for months.”

Wired reported that DOGE is putting together a team to migrate the Social Security Administration’s computer systems off COBOL programming in a matter of months.

Fortune reported that the Trump administration is also planning to do away with payments via paper checks.

The Trump administration and DOGE have been accused of using the changes as a “backdoor” way of cutting payments and gutting Social Security.

Trump has promised not to touch benefits.

During an appearance on the “All-In” podcast earlier this month, Howard Lutnick, a billionaire and the Commerce Secretary for President Trump, said only “fraudsters” would complain if they missed a social security payment.

“Let’s say social security didn’t send out their checks this month,” he said. “My mother who’s 94, she wouldn’t call and complain. She’d think something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining.”

Ominously for folks counting on their checks, Lutnick said that for Elon Musk and DOGE the “easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen.

“Whoever screams is the one stealing,” he said. “Come on, your mother, 80-year-olds, 90-year-olds, they trust the government.”

USA Today pointed out that more than 70 million people get Social Security checks, and that includes “most people over age 65, people with permanent disabilities and survivors of deceased workers.”

Also key, the site reported, “many of the program’s recipients depend on checks as their sole source of income.”