Staffing cuts and office closures at the Social Security Administration (SSA), driven by Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are estimated to force seniors to make nearly 2 million additional annual trips for necessary in-person assistance, according to a new study.

It’s never good to remove options, but for some people this will work out better. Getting through to Social Security by phone can waste many hours of time. Depending on the wait time at your local office and the travel time, it can be more convenient.

In my family’s case the local office was hopeless — the line was out the door and down the block. But we found a suburban office where the waits were much shorter with sufficient indoor seating for everyone.

Nevertheless I expect there will be more losers than winners here.

DOGE cuts to cause 2 million extra visits to Social Security offices: Study

“There’s just going to be a lot of people who are not able to complete this process,” one of the study’s co-authors told Newsweek.

https://www.newsweek.com/doge-social-security-seniors-benefits-elon-2078102