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Insider’s Report: Here’s How You Can Protect Yourself from Chaos at the Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration (SSA) was once a steady, reliable source of information and earned benefits for millions of seniors, people with disabilities and their families.
But since the onslaught of changes driven by billionaire Elon Musk and his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), this once dependable agency has been thrown into chaos:
DOGE staffers with seemingly unfettered access to millions of Americans’ private information including Social Security numbers, banking information, earnings histories and, in many cases, medical information, have left the public rightfully worried about how their information will be used and whether it will be adequately protected from hackers.
Frequent changes in procedures for interacting with SSA have sown confusion and panic among those attempting to contact the agency by telephone, with little advance notice or legitimate reasoning behind the changes.
Unsubstantiated claims of fraud, with little basis in fact, continue to undermine the public’s faith in SSA.
Finally, the increasing number of computer crashes, which have left some beneficiaries with missing earnings histories, long lines at field offices and continuing problems communicating with SSA through the telephone, have resulted in many anxious seniors and people with disabilities searching for information and options for protecting themselves from future chaos at SSA as staffing continues to decline.
These unprecedented activities of DOGE at SSA raise legitimate concerns about the agency’s ability to serve the public in the future. For this reason, the National Committee has identified FIVE KEY ACTIONS ( [link removed] ) that you and other seniors can take today to help protect yourself from the chaos at SSA:
Create a personal account at SSA
Acquire and save your earnings record
Regularly review your financial transactions
Track your credit history
Verify your identity with SSA in person
One additional step you can take right now: Make a donation to support the National Committee’s full-scale battle on your behalf to expose and stop the relentless attacks on SSA and your earned benefits. ( [link removed] )
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Make a donation now to help us keep the pressure on Congress. Your continued support is essential to the National Committee's mission. ( [link removed] )
Good Bills
The National Committee endorses the bipartisan “Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act,” ( [link removed] ) which is designed to assist individuals whose identities have been stolen and improves the process for victims to reclaim their identity.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. According to the April 2021 Bulletin of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, an estimated 23 million persons, or about 9 percent of all United States residents age 16 or older, reported that they had been victims of identity theft in 2018.
In addition to their financial losses, victims often face a daunting and frustrating process to reclaim their identity and significant numbers of victims report experiencing emotional distress attempting to resolve the problems created by the theft. This bill requires SSA to provide a single point of contact for any individual whose Social Security account number has been misused, and further requires the single point of contact to track the individual’s case to completion and coordinate with other specialized units to resolve case issues as quickly as possible.
If this bill is enacted, the National Committee urges Congress to ensure the SSA has sufficient resources to adequately implement this legislation while not detracting from the remainder of the agency’s critical mission.
Poll Result
This week, the National Committee conducted a poll among our members and supporters across the country. We asked, “Do you believe the Trump Administration and GOP leaders in Congress will turn to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to pay for their $7 trillion tax cut package for the wealthy?”
The results: 84% of respondents answered “YES!” As the budget process heats up in Washington, you can count on the National Committee to be there to pressure our elected officials to protect the benefits that millions of Americans like you have paid into and earned after a lifetime of work.
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 ( [link removed] ) for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here ( [link removed] ).
This week’s question is:
Can our great-granddaughter receive Social Security benefits if my husband is disabled?
Click here to read the answer. ( [link removed] )
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Social Security Benefits
Learn more about the Social Security program and the policies the National Committee supports that would strengthen your earned benefits.
Federal judge makes your Social Security data harder for DOGE to access — for now ( [link removed] )
The Department of Government Efficiency will be allowed only limited access to Social Security data after a federal court ruling that blocks the agency from tapping beneficiaries’ personal identifiable information at will. The judge’s orders will give DOGE employees “the standard that is the same as an [SSA] employee would get,” said NCPSSM's senior Social Security expert, Maria Freese. (April 19, 2025, Market Watch, Alessandra Malito)
Read More → ( [link removed] )
Medicare Rights Center Fred Riccardi on Trump/GOP Threats to Medicare, Medicaid ( [link removed] )
The Trump administration is starting to do to Medicare and Medicaid what it's been doing to Social Security. Plus, Republicans in Congress want to cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich. Medicare Rights Center President Fred Riccardi tells us it's a time to be concerned for the future of these programs — and take action to defend them. He also has reservations about tv's Dr. Oz taking the helm of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (April 17, 2025, You Earned This: The Social Security & Medicare Podcast)
Listen Here → ( [link removed] )
Hiltzik: Trump's Kafkaesque attack on Social Security—Declaring living people as dead ( [link removed] )
“As with most of the actions of the Social Security Administration since Trump came into office, we cannot make rational sense of the policy to place immigrants on the SSA’s list of deceased persons,” says Max Richtman, President & CEO of the National Committee. (April 16, 2025, Los Angeles Times, Michael Hiltzik)
Read Here → ( [link removed] )
Local Social Security recipients tired of the 'runaround', upset more employees being eliminated ( [link removed] )
“The ongoing struggle is getting enough money to hire staff at the Social Security Administration that you need in order to provide the service delivery system,” said Web Phillips in 2019, who, at the time, was the Senior Legislative Analyst for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. (April 15, 2025, WEWS-TV, Cleveland, Jonathan Walsh)
Read More → ( [link removed] )
State AGs write in support of suit against SSA, DOGE ( [link removed] )
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark joined 21 other attorneys general in supporting a lawsuit against the Trump administration, Elon Musk and Social Security Administration (SSA) leadership, aiming to block alleged unlawful layoffs and mismanagement at the SSA that threaten benefit payments. Other plaintiffs in the case include the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. (April 18, 2025, Bennington Banner, Mark Rondeau)
Read More → ( [link removed] )
Social Security rule reversals, office closures, cost cuts: Here’s what’s happening now ( [link removed] )
The Social Security Administration is about to get a new commissioner, but that’s only the latest of a series of changes at the agency since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. (April 19, 2025, Market Watch, Alessandra Malito)
Read More → ( [link removed] )
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