Voters may have sent various messages to Washington last November, but they certainly did not include a call to gut the federal workforce that serves American seniors and people with disabilities. Yet, that’s exactly what the Trump administration — abetted by billionaire advisor ex-officio Elon Musk — is attempting to do.
On Tuesday, federal workers — including employees of the Social Security Administration — received an email from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), offering “deferred resignation.” The email said employees could resign now and continue to receive pay and benefits through September — an offer of dubious legality that was immediately criticized by Democratic lawmakers and labor unions representing federal workers.
The email, which arrived under the subject line “Fork in the Road,” implies that federal employees who choose not to resign may be subject to future layoffs and also would have to conform to rigorous, new rules that the administration intends to impose — including an end to remote work and mandatory 5-days per week in the office. Workers’ advocates say that the email is an attempt to intimidate employees into resigning.
“It is clear that the Administration is seeking to undermine federal programs by eliminating career public servants,” wrote Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in a letter to OPM. “We have grave concerns for how these personnel decisions will affect the programs that serve the American people, especially those served by the Social Security Administration (SSA).”
The group Employees for Environmental Responsibility called Trump’s offer to federal workers “an illusion.”
“The offer is not a buyout and may be illegal. This is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to get federal civil servants to quit by instilling fear and panic in the workforce.” – Employees for Environmental Responsibility, 1/27/25
Social Security advocates, including the National Committee, are alarmed (in particular) about the implications of the “buyout” offer for customers and employees of the Social Security Administration, which serves more than 68 million beneficiaries.
“SSA was already underfunded and understaffed,” says Dan Adcock, NCPMM’s director of government relations and policy. “This scheme by the administration will only exacerbate SSA’s existing problems. The agency currently does not have enough staff to meet beneficiaries’ needs — as is obvious from long hold times on SSA’s 1-800 phone number and interminable delays in hearing SSDI disability appeals.”
If the Trump administration is successful in culling the workforce at SSA, it will “take a sledgehammer to customer service,” says Adcock. He points out that many seniors are unable to conduct all of their business online and need direct contact with an SSA representative. “Bots replacing workers on the 800 phone line will not get the job done.”
Seniors and people with disabilities rely on SSA for a multitude of services — including claiming benefits, submitting changes in benefit status, and appealing benefit decisions, among other things. On top of its regular workload, SSA must now re-calculate benefits for some 3 million public sector retirees affected by the new Social Security Fairness Act. The agency announced that it may take up to one year for these workers to receive all of the payments to which they now are entitled under the new law. Advocates worry that this added workload may impede service for other current and future Social Security beneficiaries. (Some 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age every day.)
The union representing Social Security administration workers, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), is urging SSA staff not to accept the “buyout” offer at this time, pending further information from the Trump administration. “There is not yet any evidence the administration can or will uphold its end of the bargain, that Congress will go along with this unilateral massive restructuring, or that appropriated funds can be used this way,” said AFGE in an email to its members.
NCPSSM’s Dan Adcock accused the Trump administration of “running roughshod over the protections that civil servants have,” and predicts that there will be lawsuits over the “Fork in the Road” policy.