5 Social Security Changes Trump Has Already Made
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
Amen Oyiboke
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President Trump has made it no secret he wants changes made to the Social Security Administration (SSA). In addition to cutting what he called fraud and waste, the president has called for no tax on Social Security and no cuts to benefits.
Although he’s only been in office a short while for this term, here’s a look at five Social Security changes Trump has already made.
Leadership Changes
President Trump named Leland “Lee” Dudek the acting commissioner of the SSA. Dudek previously served in the SSA Office of Program Integrity. Trump’s choice to permanently lead the agency, with Senate confirmation, is Fiserv leader Frank Bisignano.
Retroactive Benefits
As noted by Kiplinger, President Trump wants to put in place the Social Security Fairness Act as soon as possible. The SSA announced it’ll start paying retroactive benefits and increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits had been impacted by the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset.
DOGE Involvement
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has received a great deal of attention since President Trump took office again. According to USA Today, the DOGE team has been eyeing fraud and inefficiencies at the SSA. In fact, the SSA has closed offices as part of cutbacks.
Benefit Cuts and Taxes
President Trump has said numerous times since taking office for this new term that he will not cut Social Security benefits. Additionally, the president has made it clear in his short time back in office that seniors shouldn’t pay taxes on Social Security.
Inflation Impacts
Let’s look at two big economic factors that could impact Social Security — cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) and proposed tariffs from Trump. COLAs are impacted by inflation. Since Trump has talked about tariffs, which could temporarily raise inflation, there are concerns about the success of efforts to see lower COLAs.
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