Tag: DOGE

  • Anxiety grows in Mass. over Social Security staff cuts, errors, long wait times

    President Trump’s promises that Social Security benefits will not be cut are providing little reassurance to Massachusetts residents, advocates and employees who are witnessing changes to the program firsthand.

    The Trump administration has slashed the nearly 90-year-old agency’s workforce as part of an effort to downsize the federal government. Though no cuts have been made to individual benefits, service delays and staffing reductions are creating anxiety for people across the state.

    “They may not be cutting the dollar amount that an individual has earned and is slated to receive, but it’s still a cut if that individual can’t access those funds,” said Betsy Connell, executive director of the Massachusetts Councils on Aging. “If you cut staff, and you cut access to the administration of those services, you’re going to impede people from accessing those benefits.”

    Nearly 1.5 million people in the state — about one in five residents — receive Social Security. The federal program provides retirement benefits and disability income to qualified people and often serves as their primary — or only — source of income, advocates say. Massachusetts is home to the highest percentage of older adults in the country living alone and in poverty, according to the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston.

    In recent weeks, phones have been ringing at local councils on aging, elected officials’ offices and Social Security field offices. Often it’s people expressing concern and confusion, advocates say, but there have also been complaints about delayed benefits, long wait times and unexplained errors.

    Changes at the agency

    The Social Security Administration has cut some 7,000 jobs, including about 3,000 employees who accepted a buyout offer or early retirement. More staff reductions are expected at the agency in the coming weeks.

    Rich Couture, a spokesman for the union representing Social Security workers, said the exodus has damaged the agency, which was already at a 50-year staffing low. He said it has caused rising wait times on the national information hotline and longer approval periods for benefits.

    In Massachusetts, many field offices in and around Boston were not meeting the agency’s goal of processing 83% of claims within two weeks of filing before the cuts.

    Camillie Piñeiro, who works in the Springfield office, said the site is already understaffed by 13 employees, and five more plan to take the early retirement offer.

    “People with the most experience have been incentivized to walk away,” Piñeiro said. “The more understaffed we are, the bigger the burden on those that stay.”

    The smaller workforce could pose an even bigger problem starting April 14, when many people seeking benefits will need in-person appointments to verify their identities. The new policy was scaled back after advocates and lawmakers raised concerns about barriers to service. Still, Piñeiro said half the calls she answers on the general inquiry line are from people worried their benefits will be stopped if they can’t make it into the office.

    Some Social Security beneficiaries don’t live near a field office or lack access to public transportation. In Massachusetts, the Greenfield field office closed over a decade ago, leaving a gap in Franklin County, a largely rural area where 18,925 residents receive Social Security, according to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office.

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., joined at right by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, criticizes efforts by President Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans in Congress to compromise the Social Security program, in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

    Concerns about in-person service have been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s plans to close federal buildings. No Massachusetts sites are on the list of Social Security offices closing this year. But the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Federal Building in Boston, which houses a Social Security office, was on a list of buildings to sell that the Trump administration posted and later took down in March. Union spokesman Couture worries the federal government will again target the O’Neill building for closure.

    “All these federal buildings — well, that’s one avenue for closure,” Couture said. “So the entire system is under attack.”

    Another change causing concern is a new overpayment policy, Piñeiro said. In the past, the agency deducted 10% of a recipient’s monthly benefit if they had received more than they were entitled to. This can result from a mistake on Social Security’s part or a failure to make updates that might impact a person’s benefits.

    Now, the agency is withholding all funds until any overpayment is addressed.

    “That brings people into the office in a state of desperation,” Piñeiro said. “Retirees cannot afford to lose for one month their benefit.”

    Billionaire Elon Musk, who is helming DOGE, the White House’s cost-cutting unit, has repeatedly cited Social Security fraud as a significant problem. But Couture said the fraud rate is far less than 1% of payments a year.

    “One of the ways to mitigate this is to provide the agency with resources,” Couture said. “Overpayments could be avoided with adequate staffing.”

    Delays and confusion

    Some Massachusetts residents have reported long wait times, payment delays and confusing messages in their online account portals.

    Carolyn Villers, executive director of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, said her organization joined a lawsuit filed last Wednesday alleging DOGE and the Social Security Administration’s actions violate laws protecting the benefit. Villers said her group has received concerning reports in recent weeks that include payment delays.

    Two individuals who were set to receive benefits on March 26 didn’t receive their checks until April 1, leaving one woman unable to pay her rent on time, Villers said, calling it “alarming.”

    “I have worked with Mass Senior Action 20 years this fall, and I have never heard of people getting delayed or late payments, certainly without explanation,” she said.

    She said she has also heard reports of phone wait times exceeding three hours and limited availability for in-person appointments. One woman was told she would have to wait 40 days — more than a month — for an appointment at any of the six offices in her region, Villers said.

    “Until recently, I had not heard of people who called and were told ‘no available appointments,’ ” Villers said. “We have seen and heard from our members and the larger community that there has been a noticeable shift in a lack of access.”

    Error reports also appear to be on the rise, Villers said. Concerns have circulated on social media from people who found notices in their online accounts that said they are no longer receiving benefits.

    Tom and Christine, a Westborough couple who asked WBUR to withhold their last name because they fear retribution for speaking out, received one such notice. They logged in March 31 to check the account of their son Ned, who has autism. He gets Social Security disability benefits that help pay for the group home where he receives 24/7 care.

    The notice on his account caused them to panic, said Chistine. She said she worried that she might have to reapply for her son’s benefits. It turned out to be an error, and the payment arrived on time the following day.

    The family also had to wait three weeks to schedule an appointment for Ned’s Medicare benefits. Christine said these experiences have shaken her confidence in the system.

    “These are not people we need to stress more, and these are not families we need to stress more,” she said.

    Taking action

    Massachusetts’ two U.S. senators, both Democrats, say they’re fighting to preserve Social Security benefits.

    Last week, Sen. Warren and three other Democratic senators launched a “Social Security War Room” to educate the public about cuts and encourage grassroots activism.

    “It is about having a place to bring the stories, so we can have all of the American people privy to what we hear when we’re back home,” Warren told reporters.

    Sen. Ed Markey said his office has contacted Social Security officials about complaints from his constituents.

    “My office is contacted daily by senior citizens who are terrified that they will lose the earned benefits they rely on to eat and to keep a roof over their head,” he told reporters last month.

    Musk and his DOGE team have yet to comment on the lawsuit the Massachusetts Senior Action Council and four other groups filed with seven beneficiaries.

    “We keep hearing the administration and Trump say, ‘We’re not gonna cut Social Security.’ Well, they are,” Villers said. “These delays and disruptions that are creating barriers to people accessing their earned benefits are absolutely a cut.”

    This story is part of a partnership between WBUR and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Mass. fair housing center says it can’t take new cases after HUD funding cuts

    Calls to the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center’s main line have gone to voicemail since March 5.

    Clients are directed to dial the extension of the person they’re working with, but those looking to open a new case with the nonprofit center — which provides free legal services to people experiencing housing discrimination — are told by the recording that the office won’t accept new requests for assistance.

    It was a difficult message to put up, said Maureen St. Cyr, the executive director of the Holyoke-based center. But the Department of Government Efficiency, an entity formed by President Trump through an executive order, slashed the center’s annual budget by more than half, she said, leaving her little choice.

    The office’s $1.3 million contract with the Department of Housing and Urban Development was terminated Feb. 27, effective immediately. The contract had been Congressionally approved yet was cut in the midst of a three-year payment plan.

    “To have our funding terminated with no real reason while doing high-quality work,” said St. Cyr, taking a long pause. “I don’t have a word for what it is. It’s devastating to the work that we do.”

    DOGE’s terminated contracts with 65 other fair housing organizations throughout the country on the same day. The Holyoke center and three organizations based in Idaho, Texas and Ohio filed a lawsuit yesterday to challenge the move in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.

    They’re calling for a temporary restraining order to block the more than $30 million cut by DOGE to the Fair Housing Initiative Program, which issued the grants.

    Fair housing centers provide critical funding that helps educate communities, investigate complaints and remove barriers to housing based on discrimination. If someone believes they’ve been denied housing because of discrimination — because they have children or a housing voucher, or need accommodations on the basis of a disability, for example — they can reach out to local centers to help advocate for them.

    Marily Rosa spent years scouring the Massachusetts housing market for a better place to raise three young her children. When she applied for new units, she faced denial after denial. It was only when a real estate agent told her a landlord rejected her because she had a Section 8 voucher that her suspicions were confirmed.

    When her real estate agent connected her to the center, she felt like someone was finally on her side.

    “The guy that worked with me would call me every so often and let me know updates on the case,” she said. “It was effortless for me after submitting the paperwork.”

    Rosa decided to move to a different apartment, but the settlement from her case helped to pay for her younger kids’ bunk beds, a new dresser for her oldest and a couch to replace the old, rat-infested one from their previous home.

    Without the Fair Housing Center, Rosa said her situation “would be hopeless.”

    “I’m sad other people won’t have the same advantage right now, she said. “These places that are helping the less fortunate matter.”

    For Cyr, the priority now is helping existing clients, even over having a physical space. Once its lease is up in three months, the center’s nine-person staff will leave the office and work remotely, saving “every last dollar for clients and staff.”

    Other fair housing centers across the state are bracing for impact as the Trump administration terminates Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity grants. Of the 162 active grants going to private nonprofits that fight housing discrimination, which is prohibited under the 1968 Fair Housing Act, nearly half are slated for cancellation.

    “All these organizations are funded in this way,” said Jamie Langowski, the executive director at Suffolk University’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program. “If they terminate FHEO, they’re really taking away the Fair Housing Act.”

    Langowski said her program, which has been funded through HUD since it opened in 2012, hasn’t lost any federal dollars. But two grant applications submitted in November haven’t moved forward, she said, which would have been awarded by now in a typical cycle. That funding is necessary for her organization to continue serving the Boston area, she said.

    “We get asked all the time to do training with cities and towns across Mass. for community members, real estate, landlords,” she said. “We’ve already had to start saying no to people.”

    Nonprofits work in conjunction with both the state and HUD to provide fair housing services; state and federal offices act as neutral bodies to investigate legal complaints. Massachusetts has its own set of anti-discrimination laws, upheld by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, whose housing units are supported by HUD funding.

    “[Nonprofits] fill a role that MCAD can’t fill — testing, legal advice and representation, working to file complaints,” said executive director Michael Memmolo. “It’s a collaborative effort.”

    Though the commission hasn’t been notified of any federal cuts, it’s actively planning for the “inevitability that contracts be eliminated,” he said.

    There have been warning signs, Memmolo said. The commission received word from HUD that it’s no longer able to file complaints that relate to gender identity under federal law; since those cases no longer receive federal rights protections, they’ll be left to state protections only, he said.

    The commission has already begun discussions with Gov. Maura Healey’s office and the Legislature, advocating that the state step in if the federal government cuts funding. About 80% of the commission’s budget comes from the state, but the federal money is crucial, particularly for housing, especially if HUD and local nonprofits can no longer carry their weight, Memmelo said.

    In 2024, the commission received 439 complaints alleging discrimination in public housing, making up about 12% of its caseload. Mass. Fair Housing receives about 250 complaints each year and currently serves more than 50 clients.

    Beyond outside contracts, the Trump Administration is slashing HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, cutting probationary workers and proposing a 77% staff reduction.

    Claire Bergstresser lost her job with Fair Housing Feb. 14 alongside three of her co-workers.

    “We were actually trying to head towards more folks covering an entire New England region rather than fewer,” she said. “We’re looking at numerous cases that are going to be reassigned.”

    Smaller staff means people who call HUD will have to wait longer for answers, Bergstresser said. And she’s worried about time-sensitive cases — people who need disability accommodations, and domestic violence cases protected under the Violence Against Women Act.

    “You’re taking out the ground floor,” Bergstresser said. “At HUD, we have such a stretch as a federal agency that we really help to prop up the giant ecosystem of important players. And so when you take out the ground floor, everything comes down.”

    Not every local fair housing nonprofit has been hit with federal funding cuts. SouthCoast Fair Housing, which serves Plymouth and Bristol counties and the state of Rhode Island, still has all of its federal funding, said executive director Kristina da Fonseca. But what’s happened in Holyoke worries her.

    “For many years it’s been a network of different actors playing different roles, all kind of working toward the same goal historically: that everyone has safe, affordable and fair housing,” da Fonseca said. “When one of those pieces steps away from that, it’s going to cause disruption through the whole system.”

    This story is part of a partnership between WBUR and the Boston University Department of Journalism.