Social Security Website Crashes Amid Controversial Policy Changes

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is looking into why the website has been down multiple times, which has prevented people from logging into their accounts through the “My Social Security” portal.

The problems have raised alarm, as the agency has been moving more services online while cutting back on phone-based support, as reported by Gizmondo.

In a statement reported by the AP, the agency confirmed two recent incidents. While the disruptions lasted around 20 minutes on average, the website remained functional, though some users experienced difficulties logging into their “My Social Security” accounts.

The system failures have caused widespread concern because most retirees and disabled Americans use the online portal to handle their benefits. The SSA website experienced four service disruptions during the last ten days because of server overload which prevented millions of users from accessing their accounts according to The Washington Post.

On top of this, the AP reported that SSA also sent incorrect notices to some SSI recipients who received messages saying they were “not receiving benefits” but the SSA later explained this was a clerical error.

The AP argues that the problems align with a significant operational transformation that took place during the tenure of acting Commissioner Leland Dudek while Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) faced public scrutiny.

The agency has been pushing beneficiaries toward online services while cutting back on phone-based assistance, a move that has drawn criticism, as noted by Fortune. The SSA has partially reversed a recent decision that required retirees to verify their identity online instead of over the phone for certain benefits after public backlash, as noted by Gizmondo.

Musk, who has been vocal about alleged fraud within Social Security, claimed at a political event in Wisconsin that “40 percent of the calls into Social Security were fraudulent,”  noted Gizmondo. However, The New York Times has pointed out that this claim lacks evidence and appears to misrepresent a different statistic.

Forbes points out that DOGE has placed at least ten employees inside the SSA to detect areas of inefficiency. SSA data contradicts Musk’s fraud allegations since SSA data show that improper payments amounted to less than 1% of benefits between 2015 and 2022, according to an inspector general report.

Furthermore, Gizmondo notes that the SSA’s office closures have generated significant controversy. The agency first stated it had no plans to close permanent locations, but later admitted the termination of leases for unused facilities which included a major White Plains New York hearing office.

With millions depending on Social Security, ongoing technical issues and policy shifts continue to fuel uncertainty about the program’s future.