In the News

As Social Security’s 90th Anniversary draws near, some worry about the funding and staffing cuts the program faces — and the effects those cuts could have on Coloradans.

On Aug. 12, Representative Brittany Pettersen — who represents Colorado’s 7th Congressional District — met with community leaders and local advocates to discuss the current state of social security and what could be done to improve it.

The group met at the Seniors Resource Center in Wheat Ridge, which provides support for seniors at the center and in their homes. Petterson opened the discussion by highlighting the history of social security and its importance in the community.

“Social Security is the most important thing we’ve ever done to lift our seniors out of poverty,” Pettersen said. She then spoke to the challenges the program faces, such as budget cuts and staff reduction.

Pettersen then opened the floor to the community leaders present, asking them to share their current experience with Social Security.

Chris Lynn, the president of Seniors Resource Center, who also serves on the Jefferson County Council on Aging, said that he had seen an increase in requests for resources at the center because there was a growing population of seniors. According to Lynn, there are now more people over the age of 65 in Jefferson County than under the age of 65.

“While we don’t specifically deal with Social Security here, we definitely are feeling the impact of people’s fear on what’s going to happen,” Lynn said.

Jacey Garcia, a constituent advocate for the Office of Senator Michael Bennet, said that her office had seen an increase in requests for help navigating Social Security. Typically, Garcia gets calls from constituents who are unable to access benefits, although she said there had been an increase in requests for help with basic tasks — like making appointments.

“People can’t get Basic Services covered,” Garcia said. “Now they come to us, and I can do what I can to help in these situations, but it seems like I’m doing a lot to just accomplish the most basic of tasks and get Social Security.”

Many attendees highlighted the long wait times for assistance with Social Security due to low staffing. According to Pettersen, the Social Security office is at a 50 year low for employment, causing long wait times for appointments and extended wait times for phone calls.

“It’s actually devastating when I think about seniors who are on a fixed income, who rely on these paychecks, and what the impact is going to be when they start cutting these 1,000s of positions,” Pettersen said.

Fonda Buckles, a community resource manager for the Area Agency on Aging, helps seniors navigate the application process. She said the average phone call to help a senior lasts one to two hours, and her agency fields around 100 calls a day. As the system gets more difficult to navigate, the calls get longer, and her agency isn’t always able to fill in the gaps.

“If they’re not taking care of it at a federal level, then at the state level, we don’t have the resources or the funds to help at that capacity,” Buckles said.

“It’s not just about the national cuts to Social Security,” Pettersen added. “It’s about the cuts to the state budget and how it’ll impact our seniors.”

The discussion then moved towards how groups in Jefferson County could help seniors navigate the application process.

Lynn added that he’d like to see more information given to “junior seniors” — those who are aging and approaching retirement. He said that if people have more information going into the application process, they can be more prepared to navigate the process, even as it becomes difficult.

“So much of what we can do is just try to make sure that people in our communities know what’s happening and know where they can go for help,” Pettersen said.

The meeting ended with Pettersen thanking the community leaders present for their work supporting Jefferson County’s seniors, even as providing that support could become difficult.

“It’s going to be a rough time getting through this administration,” Pettersen said. “I appreciate you all serving our seniors — the people who all too often are left behind.”