The Social Security Administration (SSA) is facing severe disruptions due to recent cuts spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), leading to what one worker describes as a “Day of the Dead Living” scenario in SSA offices across the United States.
At the SSA office in Schenectady, New York, employees are witnessing a strange phenomenon where living U.S. citizens are being mistakenly marked as deceased, causing them to lose access to their benefits and endure long, frustrating processes to restore their rightful status. Rennie Glasgow, a seasoned claims technical analyst with 15 years of experience, recounts the confusion, stating, “We have people coming in every day with their ID, saying, ‘I’m not dead, I’m alive!’”
DOGE’s Role in the Chaos
This issue has intensified after DOGE’s intervention in SSA operations, where they mistakenly flagged millions of living individuals as dead. “About 4 million people were marked as dead, and we’re not sure if they were supposed to be,” Glasgow explains. “If these people come into the office with identification, we can reinstate them. So we’re going to be resurrecting a lot of dead people.”
The consequences of being wrongly declared deceased are severe, as it halts access to benefits, freezes credit, and disrupts daily life. People whose records are flagged as deceased experience financial paralysis until they can go through the lengthy process of correcting the mistake. Glasgow says, “When they mark someone dead on the Social Security record, it stops their life. It stops their car payments, it stops their credit, it stops their ability to do anything.”
Slowdowns and Staffing Shortages
As if this weren’t enough, the cuts to SSA staffing have dramatically increased wait times and reduced the agency’s ability to serve the public. Glasgow reports that what once took 15 days to resolve now takes 30 to 45 days due to understaffing, with his office’s staff shrinking from 38 to just 30. The lack of personnel means only four out of 18 service windows are operational, and clients face delays of up to three hours before even reaching a representative.
“Every day, between 10 a.m. and noon, our system goes down,” Glasgow adds. “When people get to the window, they’re told, ‘Our system is down. We can’t help you. We don’t know what’s going on.’”
The Strain on SSA Workers
Staff morale has taken a major hit under DOGE’s cuts and management style, with Glasgow describing a work environment fraught with stress. “Every day there is a new email that is either derogatory, disgusting, or threatening,” he says. Even seemingly positive communications from DOGE, like one highlighting “Social Security month,” come with an underlying message of further “efficiency” pushes, which many workers see as a veiled effort to further undermine the SSA’s operations.
Glasgow, who serves as vice president of Local 3343 of the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing SSA workers in the region, believes there is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the agency to set the stage for privatization. “It feels like they want to make the public turn against the SSA so they can privatize it and get access to the trillions in the SSA coffers,” he speculates.
The Broader Impact of DOGE’s Overhaul
The chaos within the SSA is not isolated to Schenectady but reflects a nationwide issue under Musk’s oversight. These cuts, designed to streamline the agency, are instead resulting in inefficiencies and harm to vulnerable populations who depend on timely Social Security payments. As wait times increase and staff morale continues to erode, the very purpose of the SSA—ensuring that Americans receive the benefits they are entitled to—is at risk.
Whether or not Musk reduces his involvement in the SSA as he has indicated, Glasgow predicts that these disruptions will persist. “Even if Musk pulls back next month, the Day of the Dead Living will continue.”
