(NewsNation) — The Social Security Administration had a press release on Thursday stating all agency employees have been told to prepare for “significant workforce reductions.”
According to the release, the SSA will work on restructuring the department, which could lead to employees being fired or redirected. It could also lead to organizations or positions being erased completely.
“Reassignments may be involuntary and may require retraining for new workloads,” the release said.
Voluntary reassignment or early retirement for Social Security employees
The SSA said employees who are interested in being “reassigned to a mission critical position” have to fill out the Reassignment Questionnaire by March 14. The administration did not specify who would qualify.
If an employee does not want to go through the administration’s restructuring process, they can choose to voluntarily retire or resign. This option is being offered to all employees, according to the press release.
If an employee is eligible for early retirement, they have to leave the SSA by Dec. 31, 2025. You are only eligible for early retirement if:
- Have at least 20 years of service and at least 50 years old or have at least 25 years of service, including five years of civilian service, at any age
- Must be under a non-time-limited appointment
- Must have been on SSA’s rolls continuously for at least 30 days before Jan. 17, 2025
- Cannot be fired due to misconduct or unsatisfactory performance
Employees can also choose to take part in the voluntary separation incentive payments (VSIP), which will be available until March 14. This is for employees who are deciding to leave the SSA voluntarily. To be eligible, an employee must:
- Be in an appointment with no time limit
- Be employed by the Executive Branch of the federal government for at least three straight years
- Be in a position that is covered by an agency VSIP plan (this would be all SSA employees)
- Apply and get approved for a VSIP
An employee also can’t be in any of the ineligible categories, including re-employed annuitants, those who qualify for disability retirement or those who have received VSIP from the federal government before, among others.
If an employee decides to voluntarily leave, they must decide to do so by March 14 and leave the SSA by April 19, 2025. Employees could be placed on administrative leave through April 19, according to the press release.
Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts
This all comes as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency continues to make cuts. On Thursday, hundreds of weather forecasters and other employees with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were fired.
According to Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist, the first round of cuts at the NOAA were probationary employees.
Along with it, thousands of probationary employees across the entire federal government have been fired in the past few weeks. Musk claims that DOGE has saved an estimated $65 billion so far, however, data shows that 40% of the contracts that have been cut so far won’t be saving the government any money.
So far, it is unclear how much money DOGE has saved for the federal government.
DOGE is also looking at other ways to save the federal government money, including analyzing the company’s foreign aid spending.