The agency also plans to close down several regional offices, reducing the number of offices from 10 to four.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) said on Friday that it is planning to lay off about 20 percent of its workforce, or 7,000 employees, in a bid to support the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts.
The agency said it intends to reduce its workforce from the current level of roughly 57,000 to about 50,000, with a significant focus on “functions and employees who do not directly provide mission critical services.”
The SSA also plans to close down several of its regional offices, reducing the number of offices from 10 to four, and slash the number of deputy commissioner-level organizations to seven.
Employees can choose to leave the agency through various resignation and retirement programs, including the Voluntary Early Retirement (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP).
The SSA stated that some workers may be subject to reduction-in-force actions that will eliminate certain organizations and positions. This may also result in “directed reassignments” of employees to different roles within the agency, it stated.
The agency said that its cuts will “prioritize customer service by streamlining redundant layers of management, reducing non-mission critical work, and potential reassignment of employees to customer service positions.”
“Also supporting this priority is looking for efficiencies and other opportunities to reduce costs across all spending categories, including information technology and contractor spending,” it said.
In an earlier statement, the SSA said it will offer incentives of up to $25,000 for employees who sign up for VSIP. The payment amount will vary based on workers’ grade level, and those choosing this option must apply by March 14 and exit no later than April 19.
For staff members up to GS-8, an incentive of $15,000 will be provided. The amount increases to $20,000 for GS-9 to GS-12 and $25,000 for employees in GS-13 and higher, according to the statement.
“All payments are subject to taxes and normal deductions from income,” the agency stated on Feb. 27.
Employees seeking to retire early can opt for the VERA scheme, which is available from March 1 to Dec. 31. Workers who opt for this must leave the agency by the end of the year.
