Social Security

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Lutnick: Only a 'Fraudster' Would Gripe Over Missing SS Payments

Billionaire Commerce chief scoffs at idea of seniors upset by skipped Social Security payment

(Newser) - A Trump Cabinet member has caused a ruckus with his remarks about Social Security, using one of his own family members in his narrative. As the GOP tries to assuage Americans' fears that benefits paid out by the Social Security Administration are on the chopping block, Commerce Secretary Howard Ludnick...

Judge Rips DOGE Dig Into Social Security Records

Americans' personal information was compromised based only on suspicion, order says

(Newser) - In a biting ruling on Thursday, a federal judge in Maryland issued a temporary restraining order blocking Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency team from having access to personally identifiable information on Americans stored by the Social Security Administration. Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander said anyone on Musk's team...

GOP Senators Want Musk to 'Zip It' on Social Security
GOP Starting to Fear
Blowback Over Social Security
the rundown
Mar 20, 2025 2:48 PM CDT

GOP Starting to Fear Blowback Over Social Security

One Republican senator wants Elon Musk to 'zip it' over potential cuts

(Newser) - Elon Musk has been dipping his toes into what NBC News calls "one of the most politically dangerous arenas in America"—Social Security payments. And multiple Republican senators want very much for him to butt out, reports the Hill .
  • "He should zip it on that. It's
...

Social Security Administration Will Crack Down on ID Checks

Many will likely have to show up in-person to prove their identity

(Newser) - In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures—which will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone, the AP reports. Beginning March 31st, people will no longer be able...

White House Reacts to Musk's Social Security Comments

Trump administration insists benefits won't be cut

(Newser) - Elon Musk sparked alarm Monday when he suggested the Department of Government Efficiency might make cuts to Social Security and other entitlement programs, and the Trump administration on Tuesday clarified that no cuts would be made to benefits that are collected under those programs.
  • Musk: "The waste and fraud
...

Social Security Staffers Barred From Reading News at Work

Meanwhile, acting chief acknowledges DOGE will likely make 'mistakes' as it makes cuts

(Newser) - Uncertainty surrounding the Social Security Administration continues, the latest entry coming via the Washington Post . The newspaper reports that acting chief Leland Dudek met with top staff and attorneys representing the elderly and disabled this week and acknowledged that Elon Musk's DOGE team is likely to make "mistakes"...

Ex-Head of SSA Sees Imminent Social Security 'Collapse'

Martin O'Malley advises to 'start saving now,' predicts some checks may stop in next 30-90 days

(Newser) - The Social Security Administration hasn't missed sending out benefits checks in the more than 80 years that it's been doing so, but that may be about to change amid recent moves by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to slash spending at government agencies, according to a...

Democrats Say Musk Showed Social Security Is a Target

Billionaire calls safety net program a 'Ponzi scheme'

(Newser) - The world's richest man has called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme," drawing outrage from Democrats while possibly undercutting his boss. "There are fewer babies being born," Elon Musk told Joe Rogan on his podcast Friday, "and you have more people who are retired that...

Millions of Dead People Aren't Getting Social Security Checks

Trump, Musk have claimed otherwise

(Newser) - The Trump administration is falsely claiming that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments, the AP reports. Over the past few days, President Trump and Elon Musk have said on social media and in press briefings that people who are 100, 200,...

Top Social Security Official Out After DOGE Tries to Access Data

Advocate says her replacement has reportedly already granted the access, however

(Newser) - Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency tried to access sensitive information at the Social Security Administration over the weekend, and Acting Commissioner Michelle King refused to grant it—and then stepped down from her position, multiple sources tell outlets including the Washington Post and the AP . A Trump administration...

US Recovers $31M It Paid to Dead People

In the form of Social Security payments

(Newser) - The US government clawed back more than $31 million in Social Security payments that improperly went to dead people, a recovery that one official said Wednesday was "just the tip of the iceberg." The money was reclaimed as part of a five-month pilot program after Congress gave the...

2.5M Americans to Get a Catch-Up Social Security Check

President Biden on Sunday signed the Social Security Fairness Act

(Newser) - President Biden on Sunday gave a financial boost to more than 2.5 million retired Americans—former teachers, firefighters, and police officers among them. CNBC reports he signed the Social Security Fairness Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation that repealed a pair of decades-old provisions that impacted public employees who...

Late Vote Gives Public Workers Full Social Security Benefits

Almost 3 million retirees are receiving reduced amounts

(Newser) - Bipartisan legislation to provide full Social Security benefits to almost 3 million public-sector retirees cleared the Senate early Saturday, 76-20, and was sent to President Biden. The group that includes teachers, firefighters, and police officers now receives reduced benefits, the New York Times reports. The measure approved just before Congress...

Social Security Recipients Getting a Smaller Raise

Checks going up 2.5%, which amounts to about $50 a month for the average retiree

(Newser) - Social Security recipients who might have been used to getting bigger-than-usual increases in recent years will have to make do with a smaller bump in 2025. The Social Security Administration said Thursday that the checks are going up 2.5% at the start of the year, reports CNBC .
  • For the
...

Seniors Will Likely See Lowest COLA Since 2021

Cost of Living Allowance is expected to rise by 2.5%, while Medicare Part B is rising 5.9%

(Newser) - Inflation may be cooling , but so is the annual Social Security Cost of Living Allowance doled out to some 68 million American seniors. As NBC News reports, it looks like the 2025 COLA may be the most meager since 2021, even as older Americans still face rising costs. The...

Outlook Brightens Slightly for Social Security, Medicare

Programs still will run out of cash in just over a decade unless Congress does something

(Newser) - Social Security and Medicare will be able to pay benefits for slightly longer than projected a year ago, their trustees reported Monday, but the programs will still run short of money in a decade or so. As it stands, the trusts that pay for Social Security benefits will be drained...

'Peak Boomers' May Have a Retirement Problem

Analysis suggests two-thirds of those turning 65 don't have enough savings

(Newser) - With the "silver tsunami" upon us, more boomers will turn 65 this year than in any other time in history in the US. But most won't be able to retire comfortably at the start of their golden years, according to CBS News , with two-thirds unlikely to have the...

Next Year's Social Security Raise Is More Modest

Recipients can expect a 3.2% boost starting in January

(Newser) - Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024, far less than this year's historic boost. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, means the average recipient will receive more money every month beginning in January, the Social Security Administration said Thursday. About 71...

Woman Has Struggled to Prove She's Not Dead for 16 Years

A 2007 error by the Social Security Administration upended a Missouri woman's life

(Newser) - A Missouri woman mistakenly added to the Social Security Administration's master death list in 2007 has been trying to prove she's very much alive for the past 16 years. Per NBC News , Madeline-Michelle Carthen, now 52, first found out about the accounting error when she was a business...

Inflation Bumps Social Security Raise Slightly

Forecast rises to 3.2% for next year, which advocates say isn't enough

(Newser) - On paper, Social Security recipients saw their monthly payment for next year increase 3.2% on Wednesday, because inflation rose slightly more than it had been. The Senior Citizens League adjusted its 2024 cost-of-living projection from 3% for 2024, NBC News reports. That would translate to a monthly jump of...

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