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The number of Americans eligible for Social Security has been rising, but the Social Security Administration has shed thousands of employees. Through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration slashed more than 7,200 positions—and the number of workers at the agency is down 20% over the last decade. Meanwhile, delays in the processing of social security survivor benefits can produce real hardship for retirees: the median retired widow or widower relies on Social Security for 75% of their total income.

Kelly Phillips Erb, a Forbes senior writer and also a seasoned tax attorney, experienced firsthand what happens when these staff cuts intersect with critical social security survivor benefits. Her widowed 77-year-old mother lost social security benefits for five months following the death of her father, and it took the help of a member of Congress to right the situation.

“I do think it’s important to stay on top of things,” Kelly told me in this Forbes Talks segment about her story. “I do think if my mom hadn’t gotten a check and I wasn’t there, she would have waited, because a lot of people have faith in the government to eventually get it right.”

Kelly also had this to say for any family who........

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