These 10 states have been hit hardest by Social Security staffing cuts, contributing to long waits for customer service

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that some states have been more affected by the budget cuts.

Between 2010 and 2021, social security's staff was reduced by 15%. In the last four years, ten states have lost more than 20% of their social security staff. Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin are included.

Four states lost more than 25%. For Puerto Rico, the same thing happens.

Between 2010 and 2021, the agency's Disability Determination Service employees decreased in size. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says that eight states lost more than 30% of their DDS staff. Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia are affected the most.

Kathleen Romig is the director of Social Security and Disability Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The agency isn't able to plan effectively because of budget cuts

She said that hiring freezes have continued on and off throughout the past 10 years.

The high turnover at the agency has made the problems worse.

It makes sense that it is taking more time to pick up the phone and process a disability because of the reduced staffing.

She said that the effects of the service delays are far reaching, as even people who aren't beneficiaries rely on Social Security for routine services such as getting new or replacement cards.

Grace Kim is the deputy commissioner for operations at the Social Security Administration.

Without an adequate level of funding, we will not be able to continue our level of service or improve service to the level that I would want to see us deliver to the public.

Kim said that increasing the amount of funding designated to the agency could help it replace and train new staff and reduce the amount of paperwork it has to deal with.