WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration is preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000, according to a person familiar with the agency’s plans who is not authorized to speak publicly. The workforce reduction, according to a second person who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, could be as high as 50%.

Another way Social Security recipients could be affected is delays in applications. Social Security Disability Insurance already has a long wait for cases to be reviewed. A reduction in workforce could potentially slow these reviews to a catastrophic crawl.

The Social Security Administraton's planning mass layoffs. What this means for its workers and Social Security beneficiaries.