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Insider’s Report: President Trump’s ‘Skinny Budget’ Is Bad News for Seniors |
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Last week, President Trump released his ‘skinny budget’ and it proposes flatlining funding for the Social Security Administration (SSA). As you know, SSA is already chronically underfunded and freezing funding at 2024 levels is in fact a cut because costs rise every year. |
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Under the guise of rooting out waste and fraud, the Trump Administration continues to target SSA, even though it’s one of the most efficient agencies in the federal government. The consequences of this campaign will make it more difficult for seniors to access their earned benefits.
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As a reminder, the Trump Administration has already slashed SSA’s staffing levels to a 50-year low at a time when 10,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65 every day. Wait times for customers have increased dramatically and the SSA website has crashed several times. |
The attacks on seniors’ programs and services don’t stop there. The Administration also proposes cutting $674 million from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which administers federal health programs. These cuts will surely impact Medicare and Medicaid. The proposal also cuts $26.7 billion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and includes the elimination of federal rental assistance — which covers tenant- and project-based rental assistance, public housing, and housing for the elderly and people with disabilities.
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It remains to be seen what the rest of the President’s budget will include. We expect his full budget will be released in the coming weeks. However, the Administration’s priorities are clear: Ask older Americans to sacrifice their retirement and health security for massive tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthiest Americans and huge corporations.
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In yet another policy change that affects Social Security recipients, certain beneficiaires who have been overpaid by Social Security through no fault of their own will see their benefits cut in half rather than losing their entire benefit until the overpayments are repaid. Beneficiaries may owe the Social Security Administration (SSA) money due to overpayments — when their monthly benefit checks are more than what they are owed.
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Prior to 2024, the default policy of SSA was to reclaim up to 100% of a recipient’s benefit when an overpayment was identified, even in cases where the overpayments were not the fault of the beneficiary. Historically low staffing levels, which made it impossible for SSA to identify overpayments or to adjust benefit levels in a timely manner, were responsible for the vast majority of overpayments.
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Former SSA Commissioner Martin O’Malley revised the agency’s policy in 2024 and established a default withholding rate for overpayments of 10% of monthly benefits to ease the financial burden on beneficiaries. But the Trump Administration reverted back to a 100% withholding rate on new overpayments of benefits. After an outcry from advocates, including the National Committee, SSA is now backing off this plan and is reducing benefit clawbacks from 100% to 50% for certain affected beneficiaries.
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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 for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here.
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This week’s question is: My daughter is named as the guardian of our disabled son when we both pass away. Will she be entitled to Social Security as the “guardian” of a disabled child? What will the payments be, if any, in relationship to my present Social Security payments?
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A free subscription, keeps you on top of the latest news about your earned benefits. |
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Your support sustains our campaigns in Washington to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. |
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Learn more about the Social Security program and the policies the National Committee supports that would strengthen your earned benefits. |
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It’s “unclear whether traditional paper Social Security cards eventually will be phased out,” said Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, in a statement. “That is something seniors need to know.” (April 28, 2025, Think Advisor, Melanie Waddell) |
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Many of the overpayments involve disabled workers who receive payments through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, whose recipients receive an average of $1,538 per month, said Dan Adcock, Director of Government Relations & Policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. (May 5, 2025, CBS News, Aimee Picchi) |
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Oregonians crowded a Beaverton rec center to hear Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) and Andrea Salinas (OR-06) and Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05) warn about threats to Social Security and Medicare. Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, gifted Bonamici and Salinas symbolic boxing gloves. (April 30, 2025, Northwest Labor Press, Anna Del Savio) |
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“The combination of fewer workers, fewer offices and a massive increase in the demand for in-person services could sabotage the Social Security system,” says National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare President Max Richtman. (April 25, 2025, Bucks County Beacon, Sarah Anderson) |
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Under the Trump Administration, Social Security wait times have increased — averaging 90 minutes on the 1-800 number — due to historically low staffing, buyouts, new ID rules, and proposed office closures, resulting in long lines, appointment delays and eroded public trust in the agency. (May 6, 2025, USA TODAY, Sarah D. Wire) |
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The Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to let the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have access to the sensitive information kept by the Social Security Administration. (May 2, 2025, CBS News, Melissa Quinn) |
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As the Trump Administration and Congress pursue broad cuts to federal health agencies and budgets, most of the public, including some Republicans, oppose deep cuts, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. (May 1, 2025, KFF, News Release) |
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The Social Security Administration has rolled out a new ChatGPT-style chatbot. The tool was meant to help staff handle routine tasks and boost productivity. But employees say it barely works, and a mismanaged launch has left many wondering if automation is the right path for SSA. (April 28, 2025, MSN, Noor Bazmi) |
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Member contributions to the National Committee, a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization, are not tax-deductible. |
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