Trump issues Social Security proclamation

Yahoo

a day ago

President Trump signed a proclamation marking the 90th anniversary of the establishment of Social Security, while boasting changes in his recent tax law aimed at providing relief to seniors.
'On the 90th anniversary of the establishment of this historic program, I recommit to always defending Social Security, rewarding the men and women who make our country prosperous, and taking care of our own workers, families, seniors and citizens first,' Trump said in the Oval Office.
The president touted his 'big, beautiful' tax law enacted last month as paving the way for the 'largest tax break for seniors in the history of our country,' while lauding efforts in his administration to root out 'fraud, waste and abuse.'
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed in July, greenlighted a temporary $6,000 tax deduction for those at least 65 years of age. However, some experts have argued the move will likely have a larger impact on those in the upper-middle class than those on the lower end.
'You reported it all the time. In four or five years, it's going to go bust, but not anymore, it's not,' he claimed to reporters, while also boasting efforts in the administration aimed at finding 'tremendous fraud, where we have illegal aliens.'
But recent analysis from the Trump administration's chief actuary for the program projected the president's recent tax and spending megabill could speed up insolvency for Social Security's trust funds, which could start seeing lower levels of tax revenue of benefits starting this year.
With the recent tax changes, the Office of the Chief Actuary at the Social Security Administration projected depletion of the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) trust funds will accelerate from the third quarter of 2034 under the recent board of trustees' report baseline to the first quarter of 2034.
Trump's comments come as his administration's plans to significantly reduce the agency's workforce and increased rhetoric about eliminating 'billions of dollars' in fraud in the program have drawn much public attention in recent months.
Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano, who attended the event Thursday, also vowed that Social Security would move to become 'digital first.'
'This will be a digital first agency, and we are building My SSA accounts, that's the digital account, and we have a bold goal of 200 million Americans to have a digital SSA account by the end of next year,' he said. 'It will happen, just like we had a bold goal of single-digit wait time on the calls when they were at 40 minutes.'
'You should expect this to be a great digital first agency. My commitment to make this happen is as deep as the president's commitment to make the world a great place,' Bisignano also said, adding, 'Social Security will be great again.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.