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Insider’s Report: Trump Administration’s Big Plans for SSA Could Cause Seniors a Big Headache |
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The Social Security Administration (SSA) plans to cut field office visits by half in 2026, raising fears of more closures and reduced in-person access as staffing shortages, layoffs and increased reliance on online services leave many seniors and vulnerable people without needed support. |
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“A November internal field office operating plan shared with The Associated Press outlines a proposed target of 50% fewer field office visitors in fiscal year 2026 compared to fiscal year 2025, or no more than 15 million field office visits by members of the public. Agency field offices saw more than 31.6 million field office visits from SSA recipients from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, according to the agency document.” The Associated Press, December 5, 2025 |
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Instead of fixing the problems that have plagued SSA all year, current SSA leadership continues to roll out reckless policies that put YOUR personal information at risk and make it harder for Americans to get the help they need. |
For the past year, the Trump Administration has put a big target on SSA staffing and resources: |
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- Reckless leadership decisions at SSA have jeopardized the privacy of beneficiaries, exposing sensitive personal information;
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- Many well-trained, well-vetted SSA staff have been replaced with artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet which has created confusion and frustration among beneficiaries seeking service; and
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- Billionaire Elon Musk and President Trump have pushed false claims about Social Security, including that thousands of dead people are collecting benefits, in what appears to be an effort to undermine public confidence in Social Security.
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According to a new 57-page report issued to Congress, the claim of “massive waste, fraud and abuse” in Social Security, touted by billionaire Elon Musk and President Trump, was total nonsense. |
That’s why the National Committee is working around the clock to set the record straight about Social Security and hold our elected officials accountable for any effort to chip away at the earned benefits of millions of older Americans — including SSA customer service which is part of the benefits you’ve paid into and earned.
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The Phony Hunt for “Fraud” at SSA |
Trump and DOGE shrank the Social Security Administration in a phony hunt for "fraud." Now the people who rely on Social Security will pay the price when they need anything from Social Security and have to talk to a bot or wait in a long line at a field office. |
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New Podcast Episode: Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Unaffordable Health Coverage Kills People |
Check out the National Committee’s latest “You Earned This” podcast episode. Eleven-term Congresswoman and member of House Democratic leadership Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) takes Trump and the GOP to task for making health coverage unaffordable. “Not having health insurance ... kills people,” she says. Representative Wasserman Schultz rails against the Big Ugly Bill's massive cuts to Medicaid and the Republicans’ refusal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. She was among the lawmakers who pushed back on the Trump Administration for trying to make it harder for workers to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance — leading President Trump to reverse course. |
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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: I am divorced and collecting Social Security. What are the eligibility requirements for my new wife if I get remarried? |
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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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In-person visits can be crucial for beneficiaries who have limited access to the internet, or who may have impairments that make phone or online transactions difficult. Moving away from in-person visits “betrays Commissioner Bisignano's promise that the agency will 'meet beneficiaries where they are’,” said Max Richtman, president and chief executive of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. (December 11, 2025, MorningStar, Alessandra Malito) |
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Meals on Wheels not only delivers hot, nutritious food to seniors — it provides an important social connection to people who may be lonely or disconnected. Meals on Wheels even makes older people safer! Meals on Wheels America's chief policy offer, Josh Protas, tells us all about this amazing program that, unfortunately, faces possible funding cuts. As a historian, he also answers the question: do our current leaders have a 'compassion deficit?' (December 9, 2025, National Committee You Earned This Podcast) |
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The Senate’s failure to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits will disproportionately harm older Americans insured under the ACA who have not yet reached the age for Medicare eligibility. ACA marketplace coverage is a linchpin for older adults who often cannot get affordable health insurance any other way. It is not only cruel to allow their premiums to skyrocket; it costs everyone in the long run. (December 11, 2025, www.ncpssm.org, Entitled to Know blog) |
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“Extending these tax credits to keep people’s premiums from rising is simply common sense. Without them, everyone’s health costs will soar,” said LCAO chair and NCPSSM president Max Richtman. (December 9, 2025, LCAO, Press Release) |
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Social Security beneficiaries will get 2025 tax statements as new laws — including Trump’s $6,000 senior deduction and Biden’s Social Security Fairness Act — change how much of their benefits may be taxable. (December 10, 2025, CNBC, Lorie Konish) |
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Rep. John Larson condemned Republicans for failing to address Social Security’s escalating data-privacy crisis, accusing them of letting Elon Musk and “DOGE” access and mishandle the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans without oversight. (December 10, 2025, house.gov, Press Release) |
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Among other things, Trump's tariff and trade policy has had a permanent impact on Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Meanwhile, the president's flagship tax and spending law (the Big, Ugly Bill) comes with an unsightly price tag for America's leading retirement program. (December 13, 2025, Toronto Globe and Mail, The Motley Fool) |
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Member contributions to the National Committee, a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization, are not tax-deductible. |
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