This is Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works. America’s
historic retirement security program has survived world wars, pandemics,
and recessions. But without a rapid course correction, it may not survive
Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

I’ve worked on Social Security for five decades, as a Senate staffer, on
the 1983 Social Security reform commission, and as the co-founder of
Social Security Works. I have never been this worried.

Martin O’Malley, Social Security’s most recent Senate-confirmed
commissioner, warned that Musk and Trump’s actions will result in a
"system collapse" within the "next 30 to 90 days."^[ [link removed] ]

[1]The only way to prevent catastrophe is a massive grassroots campaign
that stands up to Trump and Musk’s assault on our Social Security system.
That’s what Social Security Works was built for. We’re grateful to the
Progressive Change Campaign Committee for standing with us in this
critical time. Please, split a donation to save Social Security from Musk
and Trump!



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For decades, Wall Street-backed politicians have wanted to cut or
privatize our Social Security system. They want to force Americans to
inject trillions of dollars into risky stock investments that Wall Street
traders can extract fees from. They have been unsuccessful not for lack of
effort, but because the American people know that Social Security is
stable, safe, and reliable.

Because they cannot win a fair fight, these American oligarchs are seeking
to discredit Social Security―just as Donald Trump did in his recent joint
address to Congress. President Trump devoted a significant section to
spreading long-debunked lies about deceased people receiving benefits.
This is a new Big Lie, designed to sow doubt and distrust among the
American people.

Here’s the truth:
The hardworking civil servants at the Social Security Administration are
extremely diligent in tracking the deaths of beneficiaries. Social
Security spends millions of dollars every year to purchase the automated
death data of state vital records agencies. When beneficiaries die, their
benefits are immediately terminated. Period.

It is important to recognize that what Musk and others label "waste" is
usually unavoidable because of the way politicians have drafted our laws.
For example, Social Security benefits are paid in the month following the
month that they are due. That means that if someone dies at the end of the
month and they are paid a benefit a few days later, at the start of the
next month, that is considered an overpayment — even when the death is
quickly reported and the benefits quickly cancelled. The law requires the
Social Security Administration to claw back those benefits from the
grieving survivors — which it routinely does.

Again, no one born 150 years ago is still receiving benefits. But here is
where Musk is showing his ignorance: Let’s take the example of a person
who is issued a Social Security card as an infant and dies at age 10,
never having received a penny of benefits. Social Security doesn’t waste
our dedicated Social Security contributions finding that information and
cancelling their Social Security number — this would be expensive,
wasteful, and indeed a misuse of our contributions which by law can only
be used for Social Security benefits and their related administrative
costs.

Moreover, most adults who die leave behind spouses and children, including
adult disabled children, who may be eligible for benefits for many years
based on the decedent’s earnings record. Therefore, that record may remain
active for a very long time. For example, the last person to receive a
Civil War pension was a veteran’s disabled daughter, who died less than
five years ago — in 2020.

This information was all available in a 2019 report from Social Security’s
Inspector General^[ [link removed] ] ― an anti-fraud position that Musk and Trump have
already eliminated.

[2]Pointing out the truth behind Trump’s lies is important―but it isn’t
enough. We need a movement-wide uprising to protect our earned benefits.
Split a donation between Social Security Works and the PCCC today!

Right now, there is an all-out assault from the Trump administration on
the Social Security system. Elon Musk replaced the Acting Commissioner of
the Social Security Administration when she refused to provide his DOGE
goons access to private Social Security data. He leapfrogged over 120 more
senior employees to install a DOGE sympathizer, Leland Dudek.^[ [link removed] ]

Dudek is reportedly planning to lay off at least 15 percent of SSA’s
already understaffed, overworked workforce.^[ [link removed] ] SSA staff were sent a
message on February 27 telling them the organization will soon undergo an
"agency-wide organizational restructuring" and incentivizing them to
resign rather than get fired.^[ [link removed] ]

Trump and Musk have also instructed the government to terminate the leases
on SSA’s over 1,200 field offices, which are critical for the agency’s
public-facing work. Musk and Trump even briefly listed the Social Security
Administration’s headquarters as "non-core property" to be "disposed
of."^[ [link removed] ]

They’ve ordered all workers to return to the office. But where are those
workers supposed to go if their offices are closed? This only makes sense
if the ultimate plan is not just to fire the currently reported 7,000
workers from SSA, but everyone!

Many of SSA’s most senior employees, including five of eight regional
commissioners, have left. This is causing an enormous brain drain.
Together, they represent a huge loss of critical institutional knowledge.
Collectively, those employees had almost 1,000 years of institutional
knowledge and skills.

SSA was already severely underfunded and understaffed before all of this.
The DOGE bloodbath could lead to its collapse.

[3]Trump’s attack on the Social Security Administration is just one part
of his larger war on seniors. We’re fighting back. Split a donation today!

Most at immediate risk are those applying for disability benefits.
Already, large numbers of disabled workers find themselves homeless, and a
staggering 30,000 Americans die every year while waiting to receive their
earned benefits.^[ [link removed] ] Now that number is likely to rise significantly.

Retirement benefits are less complicated to administer, but they’re not
safe either. People who are accidentally over- or under-paid will have a
far harder time correcting the error. And the planned layoffs are so
destabilizing that seniors may even see a disruption in their monthly
payments.

Americans will have a terrible time reaching SSA if they have questions,
need to change their bank accounts, or have other issues. Musk hopes to
achieve "efficiency" by making YOU wait longer on hold. Moreover, grieving
families may have trouble getting the survivor benefits their loved ones
have earned for them. Relying on a website or worse, an AI chatbot, won’t
cut it.

Nobody voted for this. During the presidential election, Donald Trump
blanketed swing states with campaign flyers pledging that he wouldn’t
touch Social Security. Make no mistake: Trump has broken that promise.

In his March 4 address before Congress, Trump lied about this extremely
efficiently run program. Worse, he’s given Elon Musk, who recently
slandered Social Security by calling it a criminal "Ponzi scheme," the
power to destroy it.

SSA’s budget comes out of the Social Security trust funds, not general
government revenue. That means that when Americans pay into Social
Security with every paycheck, they’re also paying for high-quality
customer service.

That’s exactly what we would get — if Congress allowed SSA to spend just a
few percentage points more of its $2.7 trillion surplus to hire and
adequately train staff, open new field offices, and get wait times down.
Instead, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are planning to utterly demolish
Social Security’s customer service to pay for billionaire tax cuts.

It isn’t too late to stop this disaster. But we must act quickly.

[4]Together, we are building a coalition that cannot be denied. We can
scare Musk, Trump, and all of their Congressional supporters into backing
off their attacks on seniors. Support our movement by donating to the
Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Social Security Works today!



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In solidarity,

– Nancy Altman, President, Social Security Works

P.S. I want to thank the Progressive Change Campaign Committee for its
support in this critical time. [5]Please, split a donation to save Social
Security, Medicare, and Medicaid from Donald Trump.

 

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