Social Security website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff

[Timber Rattler]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/social-security-website-keeps-crashing-as-doge-demands-cuts-to-it-staff/ar-AA1CqYLR?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Retirees and disabled people are facing chronic website outages and other access problems as they attempt to log in to their online Social Security accounts, even as they are being directed to do more of their business with the agency online.

The website has crashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with outages lasting anywhere from 20 minutes to almost a day, according to six current and former officials with knowledge of the issues. Even when the site is back online, many customers have not been able to sign in to their accounts — or have logged in only to find information missing. For others, access to the system has been slow, requiring repeated tries to get in.

The problems come as the Trump administration’s cost-cutting team, led by Elon Musk, has imposed a downsizing that’s led to 7,000 job cuts and is preparing to push out thousands more employees at an agency that serves 73 million Americans. The new demands from Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service include a 50 percent cut to the technology division responsible for the website and other electronic access.

Many of the network outages appear to be caused by an expanded fraud check system imposed by the DOGE team, current and former officials said. The technology staff did not test the new software against a high volume of users to see if the servers could handle the rush, these officials said.

The technology issues have been particularly alarming for some of the most vulnerable Social Security customers. For almost two days last week, for example, many of the 7.4 million adults and children receiving monthly benefits under the anti-poverty program known as Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, confronted a jarring message that claimed they were “currently not receiving payments,” agency officials acknowledged in an internal email to staff.

EXCERPT

I've said it before and I'll say it again, more than anything, screwing up Social Security access and benefits will be Trump's undoing.

[GtHawk]

Is it crashing because of IT staff cuts……or because of the remaining IT staff?

[jmyrlefuller]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/social-security-website-keeps-crashing-as-doge-demands-cuts-to-it-staff/ar-AA1CqYLR?ocid=BingNewsSerp

EXCERPT

I've said it before and I'll say it again, more than anything, screwing up Social Security access and benefits will be Trump's undoing.

he's a lame duck, and everything he's doing shows it.

[Smokin Joe]

Is it crashing because of IT staff cuts……or because of the remaining IT staff?

My money is on the latter.

As for being accessible, meh. The local (in town) office was eventually closed, because it was only rarely open. Calling the next nearest I spent 8 hours on hold and never did get through. When I set up medicare, and when I set up retirement benefits, I called National and finally got someone after a couple hour wait. That was over a year ago (for the retirement benefits, earlier for Medicare), and all under Biden.
If this is worse, someone is making it that way.

[catfish1957]

My money is on the latter.

As for being accessible, meh. The local (in town) office was eventually closed, because it was only rarely open. Calling the next nearest I spent 8 hours on hold and never did get through. When I set up medicare, and when I set up retirement benefits, I called National and finally got someone after a couple hour wait. That was over a year ago (for the retirement benefits, earlier for Medicare), and all under Biden.
If this is worse, someone is making it that way.

Been through this process not too long ago.  Highly automated, and my guess is an IT type wanted a tad of revenge.  Just my take.

[Smokin Joe]

Been through this process not too long ago.  Highly automated, and my guess is an IT type wanted a tad of revenge.  Just my take.

GMTA!

[GtHawk]

My money is on the latter.

As for being accessible, meh. The local (in town) office was eventually closed, because it was only rarely open. Calling the next nearest I spent 8 hours on hold and never did get through. When I set up medicare, and when I set up retirement benefits, I called National and finally got someone after a couple hour wait. That was over a year ago (for the retirement benefits, earlier for Medicare), and all under Biden.
If this is worse, someone is making it that way.

I went through that when my first disability payment hit the bank! $34🤬 I couldn’t get it resolved by phone, even when I got someone they put on hold and anywhere from fifteen to thirty
Minutes later they hung up on me. What I ended up doing was going to the local office over two hours prior to them opening and got in line behind the thirty people already there and sat in my folding chair, it’s what I do with DMV too.

[bilo]

Is it crashing because of IT staff cuts……or because of the remaining IT staff?

Or is it the equipment?

[GtHawk]

Or is it the equipment?

I find it curious, I have been on the site fairly frequently and never had an issue, why suddenly now….maybe all those extra recipients that the democrats opened the border to?

[mountaineer]

Hey now, SocSec staff have been so hard at work, they're dropping dead at their desks.

https://twitter.com/lukerosiak/status/1912870725582520436

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

IRS site is down, I owe $7500, made an installment plan, which IRS has said is till pending. IRS insider on Reddit said this is normal though. 

[cato potatoe]

IRS site is down, I owe $7500, made an installment plan, which IRS has said is till pending. IRS insider on Reddit said this is normal though. 

IRS is a disaster zone.  They do not have the resources to provide basic service to taxpayers. 

[DB]

They had no problem accepting a boat load of money electronically from me on April 15th...

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

They had no problem accepting a boat load of money electronically from me on April 15th...

Oh they'll take your money, they just won't update your balance or anything.

[DefiantMassRINO]

'state of the art' Government computers ...



... where's a spare vacuum tube when you need one?

[GtHawk]

IRS site is down, I owe $7500, made an installment plan, which IRS has said is till pending. IRS insider on Reddit said this is normal though. 

F’ the IRS, I made a thousand dollar payment by check and they put it though as ten thousand, locking up my account as being overdrawn, took three days to get my account reopened. In case you think it as an honest mistake they did it four days later. I am now using the Al Sharpton IRS method…. I am ignoring them

[roamer_1]

The problems come as the Trump administration’s cost-cutting team, led by Elon Musk, has imposed a downsizing that’s led to 7,000 job cuts and is preparing to push out thousands more employees at an agency that serves 73 million Americans.

FALSE. The problems on its site, and./or throughout the SS system are manifold and completely preexist 'Tumpy and Our Gang'.

I have never, ever in my life dealt with a more FUBAR institution than SS, unless maybe Medicaid, which is the same bullshit. You can never get through. Everything has always been buried since I first became disabled over a decade ago.

Trying to blame that on Tumpy is nothing but a damnable lie.