Social Security

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

For Americans, Death Isn't as Scary as This

64% of poll respondents are more concerned about running out of money in retirement

(Newser) - A new poll, coming in the wake of pricey tariffs and inflation concerns, finds two-thirds of Americans are more afraid of going broke in retirement than they are of death. Life insurance company Allianz Life surveyed 1,000 US adults 25 and older with annual incomes of $50,000-plus and...

Immigrants Deemed Dead Show Up at SSA Offices

More than 2 dozen so far have been reinstated after being falsely placed on death list by DHS

(Newser) - The Social Security Administration has taken the unprecedented step of classifying more than 6,000 immigrants as dead to pressure them to self-deport. Now, some of those very-much-alive people are showing up at SSA offices with driver's licenses, work permits, and other paperwork in hand proving their existence, forcing...

Biden: Trump Has 'Taken a Hatchet' to Social Security

'This new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction'

(Newser) - Former President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that President Trump has "taken a hatchet" to Social Security, weighing in on a critical issue for millions of Americans as the 82-year-old Democrat briefly returned to the national stage. Biden, who has largely avoided speaking publicly since leaving the White House...

To Up Pressure, Administration Lists 6K Migrants as Dead

Putting names in Social Security's death file could cut 'terminate' immigrants' financial existence

(Newser) - The Trump administration has turned up the pressure on people in the US legally on work permits to leave by adding more than 6,000 of them to Social Security's "death master file." The idea of listing the immigrants with the dead is to keep them from...

Amid DOGE Cuts, 'Utter Chaos' for Social Security

Frequent website crashes seen as an 'attack on the legitimacy of Social Security itself'

(Newser) - The Trump administration has run into trouble in cutting Social Security phone services while directing Americans to the agency's website, which has repeatedly crashed under high traffic. Users "are facing chronic website outages" when trying to log in to their accounts, the Washington Post reports, noting the website...

Social Security Walks Back Phone Verification Cuts

Agency delays policy change for most applicants, exempts others

(Newser) - The Social Security Administration has postponed a plan to cut phone services for Americans applying for benefits, while offering an olive branch to the most vulnerable. The administration's initial announcement that people filing claims would need to verify their identity online or in person starting Monday drew an uproar...

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
...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser