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Insider’s Report: Early Signs Show Social Security and Medicare Could Land on the Chopping Block in 2025
Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are co-leading President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). Musk, the world’s richest person, has stated that in order to put the U.S. on firm financial footing, it would likely entail, “temporary hardship” for ordinary Americans.
Here’s what the DOGE will actually be looking for: enough government spending cuts to pay for an extension of the Trump-GOP tax cuts that mainly benefit wealthy Americans and huge corporations. And like every other budget-cutting group that’s been created in the past, the DOGE could lead to proposed Social Security and Medicare cuts that would devastate seniors’ retirement security, because that’s where fiscal “hawks” think the easy money is.
According to Musk, nothing is off the table during his review. He’s going to look at all government expenditures, “one item at a time, no exceptions, no special cases."
As you know, budget cutting efforts like this in the past have been designed to squeeze every possible dollar of savings out of the Trust Fund programs without consideration for the adequacy of benefits during their deliberations. We believe the DOGE’s recommendations would likely be handed off to a bipartisan fiscal commission created by the next Congress, giving Republicans who want to cut Social Security and Medicare political cover for doing so.
As if to foreshadow that changes are indeed coming to Social Security, Senator Mike Lee (UT) posted the following on X: “1. Of all the deceptive sales techniques the U.S. government has used on the American people, one of them—the Social Security Act—gets far too little attention. Buckle up because this is a wild ride.”
Of course this is the same Senator who in the past has said: “It will be my objective to phase out Social Security, to pull it up from the roots and get rid of it." There can be no doubt, opponents of Social Security and Medicare believe the next Trump administration and new Congress will offer a ripe environment to push forward their radical “reforms” for seniors’ programs.
With so much at stake for seniors, please sign our Urgent Petition to Congress today ( [link removed] ) and help us remind lawmakers that they have an obligation to protect seniors’ earned benefits, and they do not have to abide by any of the recommendations that come out of the “Department of Government Efficiency.”
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Make a donation now to help us keep the pressure on Congress. Your continued support is essential to the National Committee's mission. ( [link removed] )
National Committee Calls on the Senate to Pass the “Social Security Fairness Act”
With just days remaining in this session of Congress, the National Committee is calling on the Senate to take up the House-passed bill, the “Social Security Fairness Act” ( [link removed] ) (H.R. 82/S. 597). If enacted, this bill would repeal the unpopular WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) and GPO (Government Pension Offset), which have unfairly prevented millions of public sector employees (including teachers, firefighters and police officers) from receiving some or all of their Social Security benefits.
Right now the Senate bill has 60 cosponsors, yet it’s unclear if the bill will get a vote in the lame duck session of Congress. The National Committee has long advocated for the repeal of the WEP and GPO provisions, though we would have preferred that Congress take up the more comprehensive improvements in U.S. Representative John Larson’s (CT-01) “Social Security 2100 Act” ( [link removed] ) (H.R. 4583), which includes WEP and GPO repeal. Nonetheless, the vote was a bipartisan victory for public sector employees and their families, who, like all Americans, deserve to collect the benefits they have earned. We urge the U.S. Senate to join the House in approving this bill.
Ask Us!
Whether you’re retired or approaching retirement, our team of experts in the field of Social Security policy is available to answer your questions about benefits.
You can either search our archives ( [link removed] ) for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here ( [link removed] ).
This week’s question is:
My father passed away three years ago. He had been receiving Social Security. When he passed away, my mother was told she would not be able to draw anything from his record. My father was 79 when he died, and my mother is now 49. There are no children living at home or in school. She was told that if she had children in school, she would still be able to draw his Social Security. Is this right?
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Whether you’re currently retired or approaching retirement, we can help answer your questions and provide valuable advice on Social Security.
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Your support sustains our campaigns in Washington to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.
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Social Security Benefits
Learn more about the Social Security program and the policies the National Committee supports that would strengthen your earned benefits.
Repealing the WEP & the GPO with AFGE’s Jeff Cruz ( [link removed] )
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has been at the forefront of the fight to repeal the unpopular WEP & GPO provisions of Social Security, which prevent millions of public sector workers from collecting benefits. AFGE's chief lobbyist, Jeff Cruz, says we are one step closer to repeal after House passage of the Social Security Fairness Act. (November 21, 2024, The National Committee’s “You Earned This!” Podcast)
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Column: Trump pledges not to cut Social Security. Here are the ways he could breach that promise ( [link removed] )
Despite all the talk about Donald Trump being a unique political figure in American history, there’s one way in which he has behaved like every other politician on the stump: He’s promised not to lay a hand on Social Security. But that hasn’t eliminated the threat of benefit cuts, chiefly from Republicans. (November 26, 2024, Los Angeles Times, Michael Hiltzik)
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Dr. Oz Shilled for an Alternative to Medicare ( [link removed] )
In selecting Dr. Oz to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Donald Trump has landed on a prominent hype man for Medicare Advantage, the privately run alternative to government health insurance for senior citizens. (November 25, 2024, New York Magazine, Chris Stanton)
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What Social Security Beneficiaries Should Know About 2025 Numbers ( [link removed] )
One of the most important features of Social Security is the annual cost-of-living (COLA) increase. But after several years of above-average adjustments, seniors will see just a modest increase when the first payment lands in their bank account in January. (November 30, 2024, Kiplinger, Sandra Block)
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