Social Security Dumps DOGE Phone Service Cuts

After nearly a month of nation-wide chaos and angry backlash, Elon Musk’s DOGE plans to eliminate phone service for most of the Social Security Administration’s claims operations have been killed.

According to an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post (subscription required), plans to force people awarded retirement, disability and Medicare benefits to set up direct-deposit payments online or in person were canceled after the agency concluded it could vet these transactions for fraud by phone. The plans were slated to go into effect later this month.

Those applying for benefits can also continue the process by phone without the need to go online or visit an office in person, according to the Monday memo from acting deputy commissioner Doris Diaz to acting commissioner Leland Dudek.

The new system would have removed a phone option, in place for years, which has come to be a mainstay for the 73 million Americans who rely on Social Security for retirement, survivor and disability benefits and Medicare claims. The agency handles about 9.5 million claims each year, and about 40 percent come in over the phone.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement that the phone policy and Wednesday’s retreat had caused “head-spinning chaos” that is “undermining Americans’ faith that Social Security will be there when they need it.”

A White House spokeswoman defended the administration’s record at the agency.

Editor’s note: Tell us how you’re navigating these uneasy times for older Americans. Send your experiences and comments on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and your retirement savings/investments for possible publication in Retirement Daily to mhgillespie@allthingsretirement.com. Thank you, and hang in there.