An already understaffed and under-funded agency is now providing incentives to 25 percent of its entire workforce to retire early according to a story in Government Executive magazine. The publication announced that it obtained a June memorandum that informed Social Security employees of the “separation incentives.”
According to the story, employees who are at least 50, and who have 20 years of experience or more, would qualify for voluntary early retirement. Additionally, employees who have at least 25 years of experience are also being offered early retirement no matter at what age.
It is estimated that about 15,000 of Social Security’s 62,000 employees meet this criteria and could head for the doors as early as September 1 of this year. Obviously not all 15,000 employees eligible for early retirement are going to take the offer, but even if a small percentage do, things are only going to get worse in regard to wait times for Social Security services. According to a spokesperson with Social Security, the offer is being made to avoid involuntary relocations of employees.
This move does not make sense if you consider the current staffing problems at Social Security, but it makes more sense when you understand that Social Security is extremely under funded. The House Appropriations Committee offered a measure that would provide $12.5 billion to Social Security in fiscal year 2018, the same funding level it received in 2017. Over the last six years Social Security has lost about 10 percent of its workforce when it had nearly 69,000 employees. Since 2010, Social Security has closed more than 60 field offices and 500 mobile offices.
When you look at the entire picture it is easy to see why wait times for service at a Social Security office are so long and why disability claimants have to wait close to two years before they can get a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
