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Insider’s Report: Social Security Beneficiaries Have Good Reason to Be Concerned |
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“The Trump Administration is carelessly and dangerously mishandling the people’s most private information,” said U.S. Representatives John Larson (CT-01) and Richard Neal (MA-01), ranking members of the House Ways & Means Social Security subcommittee. |
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As you know, for months now, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has made troubling changes that continue under Commissioner Frank Bisignano’s leadership: cutting staff, reducing services and making it harder for seniors, people with disabilities and retirees to get the help they need. All while wait times grow longer and backlogs continue to pile up. |
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“Seniors, their families, and people with disabilities most certainly cannot trust Trump and Musk with their crucial federal benefits — or their personal data.” – Max Richtman, NCPSSM President, 2/3/25 |
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Two weeks ago, our fears were confirmed. For no justifiable reason, DOGE team members uploaded the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans to “a vulnerable cloud server,” according to a whistleblower within SSA. |
The New York Times reported that SSA’s chief data officer, Charles Borges, filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that DOGE members “copied the data to a server that only DOGE could access… creating enormous vulnerabilities.” |
A subsequent CNN story underlined the dangers of this reckless move. Correspondent Matt Egan reported that DOGE’s “move fast, break things” strategy at SSA could lead to “widespread identity theft.” Egan warned that if the data uploaded to the unsecure cloud server is breached, the government might have to re-issue Social Security numbers to everyone who currently has one. |
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The legislation would also establish privacy requirements for beneficiary data — and strengthen oversight and civil penalties for violating Social Security beneficiaries’ personal information. |
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The National Committee endorses the “Keep Billionaires Out of Our Social Security Act,” which would, among other measures, restore adequate funding to the Social Security Administration (SSA); protect and improve field offices and staffing by prohibiting closures, service reduction and relocations without congressional approval; and protect Americans’ data by strengthening penalties for improperly disclosing or accessing sensitive Social Security records and blocking DOGE and political appointees from gaining access. |
We believe enactment of this bill is needed to undo the harm that has been caused by the Trump Administration’s reckless activities at the agency, which we believe are a precursor to privatizing SSA’s operations and eventually the program itself. |
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Social Security: 90 Years Strong |
Celebrate the 90th anniversary of Social Security by watching our new documentary film, “Social Security: 90 Years Strong.” You’ll see how Social Security got started back in 1935, its history through the years and why it’s so important that we preserve the program today. |
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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: Someone told me if you don’t sign up for Social Security as soon as you are eligible, but do sign up a few years later, you get back pay to when you were first eligible. Is this true? |
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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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“This legislation would gradually eliminate the payroll wage cap while modifying the formula so benefits are provided to these high-wage earners for their contributions, thereby preserving the earned-right nature of Social Security," said NCPSSM president and CEO Max Richtman. (August 25, 2025, Financial Advisor, Tracey Longo) |
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The Trump Administration continues to gaslight the American people about its interference in the workings of the Social Security Administration (SSA). On the 90th anniversary of Social Security in August, SSA posted an 'un-truthy' letter from Bisignano to the American people on its website. We asked our Director of Government Relations and Policy, Dan Adcock, to knock down the false claims by Trump’s Social Security commissioner. (September 2, 2025, www.ncpssm.org, Entitled to Know blog) |
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In a letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano, chief data officer Charles Borges claimed that the agency’s actions have made his duties “impossible to perform legally and ethically” and caused him “physical, mental and emotional distress.” Borges blew the whistle on the Trump Administration by revealing that DOGE had uploaded Americans’ Social Security data to an unsecured cloud server. (August 30, 2025, Associated Press, Aamer Madhani) |
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Donald Trump says he is Making America Great Again, which seems like it might be code for: making everything sh**tier, less affordable and less efficient. Certainly, when it comes to the realm of public services, the White House seems to be doing everything in its power to make the century-old social welfare programs — like Social Security and Medicare — significantly less helpful. (August 30, 2025, Gizmodo, Lucas Ropek) |
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The Trump Administration has rolled out a customer service bot that was tested but deemed not yet ready during the Biden Administration. “They’re kind of like, let’s go fast and fix it later, which means you are going to generate a lot of confusion,” said Social Security’s chief information officer under President Joe Biden. (September 2, 2025, KFF Health News, Darius Tahir) |
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Social Security whistleblower says hundreds of millions of Americans are at risk after their personal data was recklessly uploaded to a vulnerable cloud server, which one of the most notorious DOGE operatives, nicknamed “Big Balls,” could access. (August 26, 2025, Daily Beast, Laura Esposito) |
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Member contributions to the National Committee, a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization, are not tax-deductible. |
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