Social Security services in Hawaiʻi at risk with staffing down to 66 workers in field offices

Last week, members of the U.S. Congress met with representatives of AFGE Council 220, the union representing more than 25,000 front‑line Social Security employees nationwide, to discuss the growing crisis inside the Social Security Administration. 

Despite the Administration’s public claims that it has no plans to close Social Security field offices, newly released workforce data shows community-based services are quietly being eroded due to steep staffing losses, the union said in a press release.

The impact in Hawaiʻi is particularly severe, with only 66 active Social Security Administration field office workers statewide. Hawaiʻi now has a 1 to 4,772 ratio of field office employees to beneficiaries, one of the most challenging workloads in the nation, the union said. 

A new report from the Strategic Organizing Center said in Hawaiʻi, a national high 96% of Social Security Administration workers are paid below the living wage.

In February 2025, the Trump administration announced a plan to cut 12% of the Social Security Administration’s workforce, or about 7,000 workers, by the end of fiscal year 2025.

In the past year, the Social Security Administration has lost approximately 6,500 employees, reducing the agency to its lowest staffing level in 59 years.

Another report from the Strategic Organizing Center highlights the cuts, particularly in field offices. Between March 2024 and August 2025, the administration lost 1,862 field office workers — a 9% nationwide decline — leaving only 19,731 active workers serving millions of Americans across the country. 

Social Security’s more than 1,200 local field offices across the nation are the community-based front door for the agency, serving an average of 119,000 people per day. Americans visit thee field offices to apply for benefits, replace identification cards and get answers to complex questions.

“These cuts aren’t abstract,” said Jessica LaPointe, President of AFGE Council 220, in the news release. “They translate directly into longer wait times, delayed benefits and reduced access for people who depend on Social Security every day.” 

As Congress continues oversight of Social Security operations, Hawaiʻi’s delegation and community leaders warn that without immediate action to restore staffing and stabilize field office operations, rural and vulnerable communities will bear the brunt of the crisis.