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national committee to preserve social security and medicare
Social Security Defenders Say Trustees Report Shows Expansion—Not GOP Cuts—Is Path Forward
"Any politician who doesn't support increasing Social Security's revenue is, by default, supporting benefit cuts," said one advocate.
Jun 18, 2025
A U.S. government report released Wednesday found that the combined Social Security trust funds will not be able to pay out full benefits to recipients come 2034, unless federal lawmakers act—an announcement that prompted defenders of Social Security to call for increased revenue for the social safety net program.
The report from the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds found that the former's two funds will be exhausted a year earlier than expected, and when that happens payroll tax revenue and other income sources will be able account for 81% of benefits owed to beneficiaries.
According to the report, the two funds—the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance Trust Fund—could "not actually be combined unless there were a change in the law, but the combined projection of the two funds is frequently used to indicate the overall status of the Social Security program."
The OASI Trust Fund will pay 100% of total scheduled benefits until 2033, after which point the program income will be able to pay 77% of total scheduled benefits. At the end of last year, 60.1 million people received OASI benefits.
The report states that the Social Security Fairness Act, an expansion to the program that was signed into law in early January, is part of the reason for the gloomier financial outlook.
Social Security has "a modest funding shortfall, which is still years away. There is no question Congress will act to avert the shortfall, as it always has in the past. The question is what Congress will do," said Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, in a statement on Wednesday.
"There are two options for action: bringing more money into Social Security, or reducing benefits. Any politician who doesn't support increasing Social Security's revenue is, by default, supporting benefit cuts," she continued.
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the advocacy group the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, struck a similar line on Wednesday.
"What's needed—and what the majority of the American people support—is increasing revenue flowing into Social Security, which has been capturing a declining share of income as wealth inequality worsens," he said. He noted that "the payroll wage cap" is depriving the system of adequate revenue. Wages up to $176,100 are taxed at 6.2% for Social Security as of 2025.
"It is time to adjust the payroll wage cap so that the wealthy begin paying their fair share," according to Richtman.
Advocates also used the release of the report to denounce any targeting of Social Security, especially efforts to undermine the Social Security Administration carried out by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
During the first few months of Donald Trump's second presidency, billionaire Elon Musk, who was tapped to lead DOGE, and his allies fanned a false narrative alleging rampant fraud at the Social Security Administration, and used those "claims to justify an aggressive effort to gain access to personal information on millions of Americans," according to June reporting from the The New York Times.
Due to pressure from DOGE, nearly 50% of the Social Security Administration's executives and thousands of employees there have left, either by retiring or taking buyouts. Per the Times, as much as 12% of staff is expected to leave because of DOGE's cost-cutting efforts.
"Despite Donald Trump's promise to protect Social Security, Elon Musk's DOGE is undermining it every day," said Altman, referencing the Times' reporting, including the loss of senior executives. "This is an incalculable loss of institutional knowledge and expertise."
Richard Fiesta, the executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, also called out DOGE's work at the Social Security Administration, and referenced efforts to raise the Social Security retirement age beyond 67.
While there is no current legislative push to increase the Social Security retirement age, in December three Republican senators voted for a failed amendment that would have gradually raised the Social Security retirement age. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky put the amendment forward in response to the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act.
"Republicans in Congress have made clear they are eager to cut the benefits Americans have worked a lifetime to earn," according to Fiesta.
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Emails Show Trump Official Targeted Maine Social Security Services as Political Revenge
"Trump is clearly comfortable weaponizing Social Security for political purposes, and we fear that this is only the beginning," said one critic.
Apr 02, 2025
The top Democrat on the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Wednesday led calls for the resignation of acting Social Security Administration Commissioner Leland Dudek following the revelation of internal emails confirming that the SSA canceled contracts with the state of Maine as political payback after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills publicly defied President Donald Trump in support of transgender student athletes.
The emails—which were obtained by House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.)—show that Dudek ordered the cancellation of enumeration at birth and electronic death registration contracts with Maine, even though SSAd subordinates warned that such action "would result in improper payments and potential for identity theft."
"These emails confirm that the Trump administration is intentionally creating waste and the opportunity for fraud."
Dudek—who is leading the SSA while the Senate considers Trump's nomination of financial services executive Frank Bisignano—replied to the staffer: "Please cancel the contracts. While our improper payments will go up, and fraudsters may compromise identities, no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child."
He was referring to Mills, who stood up to Trump in February after the president threatened to suspend federal funding for Maine unless the state banned transgender girls and women from participating on female scholastic sports teams.
The termination of the enumeration at birth contract briefly forced Maine parents to register their newborns for a Social Security number at a Social Security office, rather than checking a box on a form at the hospital as is customary, before the SSA reversed its decision.
Connolly sent Dudek a letter demanding that he "resign immediately" and submit to a transcribed interview with House Oversight Committee Democrats. Connolly wrote that Dudek "ordered these contracts terminated" as "direct retaliation" for Mills' defiance, "even though you knew that doing so would increase improper payments and create opportunities for fraudsters."
Government accountability advocates also condemned Dudek's actions.
"These emails confirm that the Trump administration is intentionally creating waste and the opportunity for fraud—in this case, to punish Maine Gov. Janet Mills for not bowing down to Donald Trump," Social Security Works president Nancy Altman told Common Dreams.
"The people actually punished by these actions were exhausted new parents in Maine, forced to drag their newborns to overcrowded Social Security offices in the middle of a measles outbreak," she continued. "Thankfully, the Trump administration had to quickly reverse course after massive public outrage. But Trump is clearly comfortable weaponizing Social Security for political purposes, and we fear that this is only the beginning."
"Once again, we see Team Trump resorting to revenge to set domestic policy."
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told Common Dreams that "it does not surprise us at all that this administration would weaponize Social Security against anyone who disagrees with or challenges President Trump."
"It's one of the concerns that we have with Elon Musk and [the Department of Government Efficiency] having access to everyone's personal data without any defensible explanation for why they need it," he continued. "We and the American people have legitimate worries, not only that this information will be vulnerable to hackers, but also that it could intentionally be misused as a weapon against anyone who publicly disagrees with Trump."
"The fact that the acting commissioner himself publicly admitted that he didn't really understand the Maine contract, but canceled it anyway, proves that this administration is making reckless changes that affect real people for no legitimate reason," Richtman added. "Once again, we see Team Trump resorting to revenge to set domestic policy."
The revelation of Dudek's emails comes amid SSA turmoil caused by the termination of thousands of agency personnel in what Trump, Musk, and other Republicans claim is an effort to reduce waste and fraud. Musk—who recently referred to Social Security as the the "biggest Ponzi scheme of all time"—has proposed the elimination of up to 50% of SSA's workforce and has said that up to $700 billion could be cut from programs including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
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'Americans Are Rightfully Furious': Social Security Defenders Not Falling for Partial Trump Walk-Back
"This partial victory shows that when the American people fight for our Social Security, we can win," said one advocate. "We are only going to get louder!"
Mar 27, 2025
Defenders of the Social Security Administration this week welcomed the delay and rollback of some policy changes at the federal agency while also reiterating the threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump and the billionaire leader of his Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk.
As part of what critics condemn as "DOGE-manufactured chaos," SSA intended to require anyone who couldn't verify their identity online through "my Social Security" to do so in-person, beginning next week, while planning to shutter offices across the country. The agency announced Wednesday that the start date has been pushed to April 14, and people applying for Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Supplemental Security Income are now exempt from the rule and can complete their claim over the telephone.
Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek claimed Wednesday that "we have listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others, and we are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the country's most vulnerable populations."
Meanwhile, opponents of Trump and Musk's attacks on the agency—widely seen as a push toward privatization—framed the development as a "good first step" but "not enough," as AARP chief advocacy and engagement officer Nancy LeaMond said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.
"Our members nationwide have told us this change would require hundreds of miles and hours of travel merely to fill out paperwork," LeaMond said. "SSA should be prioritizing customer service effectiveness and efficiency, and as older Americans tell us, the announcement requiring visits caused confusion and distress."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said on the Musk-owned social media platform X: "Delaying a bad plan—which effectively denies people their Social Security—is insufficient. Elon Musk's DOGE must take their hands off Social Security."
Warren also acknowledged the positive impact of people calling out the assault on the SSA, adding: "Keep the pressure on Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump to reverse these cuts. YOUR voice makes a difference."
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, similarly said that "while it is good that a bad policy is being postponed—and that some of the least mobile, most vulnerable groups are now exempted—it is still bad policy. There was no reason to end the validation of identity by phone, and limiting it in any way creates an unnecessary hurdle for seniors and families claiming their earned benefits."
Richtman also took aim at those in charge, declaring that "the circus at the Social Security Administration continues under the 'leadership' of acting Commissioner Leland Dudek," who is at the helm of the agency while the Senate considers Trump's nominee, financial services executive Frank Bisignano.
"It very much appears that the decision-makers at SSA—under the influence of Elon Musk and DOGE—are making up policy as they go along, and then are surprised when there is understandable public blowback, forcing them to make ad hoc adjustments like this one," he added. "This is the opposite of the competent, responsible stewardship of Social Security that the public deserves. Dudek, Musk, and DOGE are creating nothing but distress and confusion for the millions of people who depend on these benefits to get by, while risking irreparable damage to the Social Security system."
The Trump administration's attempt to dismantle the SSA—including with cuts to personnel and phone services—is already having an effect, with the agency website crashing four times over 10 days in the past month, and callers waiting 4-5 hours on hold.
Trump & Musk are: -Lying about Social Security fraud -Making destructive cuts to SSA staffing and phone-based services -Threatening the security of people's personal information by giving DOGE access to sensitive SSA data Social Security is in crisis entirely due to them.
— Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"Americans are rightfully furious about the Trump administration making it harder for them to access their earned Social Security benefits," Nancy Altman, president of the group Social Security Works, said Thursday. "They are making their voices heard at town halls and rallies across the country, and calling their members of Congress. Now, they've forced the White House to partly walk back a needless burden."
Dudek tweaking the new verification rules, Altman said, "is just a starting point. The damage the Trump administration is doing to Social Security remains immense. The White House needs to roll back all of these senseless burdens, cancel plans to close dozens of field offices, and fully staff the Social Security Administration instead of pushing out thousands of employees."
"However, even this partial victory shows that when the American people fight for our Social Security, we can win," she added. "We are only going to get louder!"
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