The Greatest Threat to Social Security in Its 90-Year History

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

Pamela, 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."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. Please, donate today to save Social Security from Musk and Trump! 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 General2 ― an anti-fraud position that Musk and Trump have already eliminated. 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. Make a donation to Social Security Works 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.3 Dudek is reportedly planning to lay off at least 15 percent of SSA's already understaffed, overworked workforce.4 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.5 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."6 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. Trump's attack on the Social Security Administration is just one part of his larger war on seniors. We're fighting back. Donate 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.7 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. 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 Social Security Works today! In solidarity, Nancy Altman President, Social Security Works 1 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5173332-social-security-cuts-risk-collapse/ 2 https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/a-06-21-51022.pdf 3 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/17/doge-social-security-musk/ 4 https://prospect.org/health/social-security-administration-could-cut-half-its-workforce/ 5 https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2025/#2025-02-27 6 https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social/post/3ljnetyoz7k2t 7 https://www.newsweek.com/nearly-30000-americans-died-waiting-social-security-benefit-decision-1955401 Paid for by Progress America, a project of Strategy & Hustle   Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Progress America, please click here.