Seniors in Philadelphia Have Trouble Getting Social Security Offices on the Phone Due to Budget Cuts

Due to DOGE, the Social Security Administration set up a new phone system on May 9 — and seniors in Philadelphia told The Philadelphia Inquirer that they’re having trouble reaching their local offices. One of them is Marcia Chestnut, a 62-year-old former housekeeper:

In February, Chestnut — who lives with various disabilities — received a notice from the SSA saying her benefits would be cut off by April.

To find out why, Chestnut phoned her local SSA office in Germantown every weekday for two months. She’d get put on hold for four hours or longer, then the calls would be disconnected.

“Live people don’t answer,” she said. “You’re not getting anybody who’ll talk to you.”

Chestnut, who ultimately lost her Social Security benefits and is fighting to reinstate them, said lots of her senior friends who are among Philadelphia’s approximately 400,000 recipients of Social Security benefits feel helpless dealing with the new SSA system phone, conceived by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).