The SSA (Social Security Administration) provides for the needs of millions of Americans who have already retired, and while we all wish for a quick retirement, those who have applied for pension benefits in recent years have faced delays, complaints, and frustration, and it was extremely difficult for our seniors to deal with some of the rules to apply for their pension, which the SSA has decided to eliminate!
Even though it was designed to prevent fraud, it caused problems for our seniors, so they decided to replace it with a new technology that promises to speed up applications. Will this be true?
A mountain of applications…
In 2025, the Social Security Administration had over 575,000 pending retirement applications, with over 140,000 remaining unresolved for more than two months. Consider the situation of the 575,000 people who were patiently waiting for their pensions. And, of course, everything has an explanation; do you remember Elon Musk and DOGE? After firing 7,000 employees, staff cuts exacerbated the situation, and those who remained were clearly insufficient to fix everything.
The anti-fraud rule
All of this was exacerbated by an agency rule intended to “stop fraud,” which only slowed the process. It required a three-day waiting period for phone applications. What was the result? It not only did not reduce fraud, but it also caused a 25% increase in delays. In other words, seniors continued to wait, albeit for a longer period of time and with greater frustration.
Step back
The measure was heavily criticized by retirees and SSA employees alike, and numerous retiree associations publicly declared that the rule made no sense, so they decided to repeal it.
Now it’s different; they’re going to use a more modern computer system designed to detect suspicious cases without slowing down all applications; it’ll be faster, more efficient, and won’t punish anyone!
The burden on workers
Of course, this has not been completely resolved, but Deputy Commissioner Stephen Evangelista has directed employees to process 10% more applications per day rather than hiring more people!! Of course, this caused unrest among staff who were already overburdened enough to handle even more applications.
The SSA has reassigned approximately 1,000 employees from headquarters to local branches, but this is a gradual process that requires training, adaptation, and assessment of fit.
What retirees should do now
If you plan to apply for retirement in the United States, begin the process three months in advance, or even sooner if necessary, but leave enough time to ensure that everything arrives on time. The best option is to do it online: it is faster, allows you to review everything calmly, and prevents mistakes.
You’ll need to gather your birth certificate, Social Security number, tax forms, and banking information. You can check the status of your application on the official SSA website, or if you prefer, call or visit a local office.
Will the system improve?
We don’t have much faith in it because it’s a government organization, and Social Security still has a lot of work to do, but it’s a big step forward because the rule that slowed everything down will no longer be in effect, and there will be technology to detect fraud without punishing our seniors when they reach their golden years.
Not everything will be solved quickly, but at least they are attempting to resolve the chaos. If you are about to retire, start early because you already know how slow everything is!
