DOGE cuts leave Social Security at 60-year staffing low

The Social Security Administration announced in February 2026 that DOGE-driven cuts had reduced staff from 57,000 to a target of 50,000, a 12% workforce reduction that produced the lowest staffing level in 60 years. With 71 million beneficiaries and a baby boomer surge, one SSA employee was now expected to serve 1,480 beneficiaries — more than three times the 1967 ratio. The cuts came after DOGE required SSA to reduce staff faster than any previous period in the agency's 90-year history.