John,

Barring a big surprise, the government will shut down at midnight tonight. At the same time, the Trump administration is pushing ahead with a scheme to end paper Social Security checks.

This will create chaos for 400,000 of the most vulnerable Americans who receive Social Security and SSI. They have no other option―that’s why they aren’t already connected to direct deposit.

The Trump administration claims that those who need paper checks will still get them, but, like all of the chaotic changes made over the last few months, we are asked to simply trust them. There is little to no guidance about how to ensure no disruptions, which in virtually every case would be devastating. Even if 99% of them transition to the new system without any issue, 4,000 Americans will immediately need the assistance of trained staff at the Social Security Administration, and with the Trump administration planning another round of mass firings in the event of a shutdown, SSA may not be able to provide that help.

This is another example of the Trump administration declaring war on seniors. We’re fighting to restore the Social Security Administration, so that it can keep delivering every check in full and on time, as it has for the past 90 years. Can you chip in $7 now to fight back?

The people who get checks at this point lack the money to open bank accounts, maintain minimum balances, or pay bank fees. Many lack access to the internet. They may lack the mental ability to navigate the world in any way other than getting a paper check and immediately cashing it to pay for their most basic needs, including food and shelter.

Every past administration would have, prior to announcing such a significant change, spent months, if not years, discussing it both internally with those responsible for carrying out the change and externally with those affected by it. The Social Security Administration would have spent time training the staff and carefully planned a communication strategy. They would have carefully rolled out the announcement of the change with deliberate communication about it to the media and the public.

Instead, even Social Security’s own workforce has gotten very little information about how to manage the end of paper checks. The administration is essentially asking everyone to trust them.

By recklessly rushing to the end of paper checks without a firm solution in place, and enacting it just as the country is plunging into a government shutdown, this administration is deliberately sabotaging our Social Security system, setting the stage for it to fail on a grand scale, and likely to set the stage for privatization.

We can only win if we’re all fighting together. Social Security Works is holding actions around the country to save our checks. Can you chip in $7 today?

Together, we can stop the chaos, benefit disruptions, and real hardship that the Trump administration’s reckless policies are causing.

Thank you,

Nancy Altman
Social Security Works

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