South Florida residents trying to access Social Security services say they are encountering hours-long wait times and mounting frustration, as staffing shortages hit local offices hard.
Pamela Burgio, who lives in the area and qualifies for Social Security benefits in June, said she has spent hours trying to get information from the Social Security Administration (SSA) without success.
“I’m very confused about the process and trying to reach out to Social Security to get some answers,” Burgio said. “Wait times on the phone can be three hours long. I’ve spent hours on the website, can’t find what I need, and I can’t reach anyone to make an appointment.”
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a South Florida Democrat, said the growing backlog is partly due to job cuts initiated during the Trump administration, which planned to eliminate 7,000 SSA positions. The agency even offered voluntary buyouts to employees earlier this year, CBS News reported.
Impact felt at Social Security Administration Plantation office
Yanick Larose, a former SSA worker in Plantation, said she accepted one of the buyouts, fearing she would be forced out later.
“I had the age and the years, so I just did it,” Larose said.
Wasserman Schultz said Larose is one of eight employees who have already left the Plantation office. She warned that Social Security was understaffed even before these departures, and it could take years to fully train new hires to fill the gaps.
“You have to have a technological backbone that can sustain the number of calls that come in so there’s a timely response,” she said.
Wasserman Schultz is pushing for legislation to block further staffing cuts, but said she would need support from at least three Republicans in the House to get it passed.
