Lately, I have been telling people who complain about how long they must wait for a Social Security disability hearing that they are lucky. By that I mean, they are lucky they are already in the system. For those Social Security disability applicants just starting out, things are going to get much worse.
Less Money, Less Service
We see proof of that in a recent Washington Post article. Per this report, wait times for all Social Security benefits are going to increase. This is due to a proposal from the Trump administration to cut 1,000 workers from the Social Security Administration payrolls. Apparently, Trump sees this as a good thing and a way to push people to use the Internet and Social Security’s notorious toll-free number. I have blogged about this service before. In short, you would be better served to ask the first person you meet on the street for help than you would be to call Social Security’s toll-free number.
Not Everybody Has Internet Access
As for pushing applicants to use the Internet, that is great advice–if you have access to the Internet. Many people who apply for Social Security disability have had to give up on things like Internet access because they can no longer afford it. For others, they simply never learned how to do such complicated things as applying for Social Security disability benefits via a computer.
Not A Good Time To Cut Services
More than a million people are waiting to hear about their Social Security disability applications and 10,000 people reach retirement age every day. Is this a good time to cut Social Security’s workforce? Apparently, Trump thinks so.
If you are just now starting the process of applying for Social Security disability benefits, be patient. You are going to wait longer than anyone else ever has.
