As an estate planning/administration attorney for more decades than I want to admit, I write to provide support for the Social Security Administration. Without a doubt, SSA is the most efficient government agency with which I work. When a person dies, the SSA immediately upon notice of death from a funeral home withdraws that month’s payment. In a timely manner, the SSA notifies the surviving spouse of the benefits they will receive, which is the higher of the husband’s or wife’s monthly benefit. If you have a question, the SSA office actually answers the phone and provides answers to questions. You are treated with respect.

With the termination of so many SSA employees, the remaining staff will no longer be able to respond in a timely manner. Applicants for disability benefits and persons wanting to file for their benefits will find delays in response. The most recent head of SSA in the prior administration recently stated that current SSA recipients should anticipate significant delays in payments, encouraging all SSA beneficiaries to set aside as much as possible to cover the delays which certainly will occur.

It appears that this administration wants to further erode the public’s confidence in the government. The only “fraud” is the false and misleading public statements about SSA. It is making a terrible mistake in cutting SSA employees. The elderly and disabled, and indeed all of us, will pay a terrible price for this mistake by the current administration.

Robert Wells

Hopkinton