Social Security's 2025 Changes Praised by Trump Administration
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has marked the program's 90th birthday by touting its achievements under the Trump administration.
Why It Matters
August 14 marked the 90th anniversary of Social Security, which has provided hundreds of millions of Americans with retirement, survivor and disability benefits. The program is extremely popular with the public, but its management has come under severe criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups, and its future remains in question.
What To Know
In a news release issued on Wednesday, the agency touted operational changes it said had improved service for beneficiaries.
According to the SSA, the agency has embarked on a "digital-first" transformation aimed at making services faster and more accessible.
The news release reported that Americans now had 24/7 access to personal "my Social Security" accounts and that more than half a million transactions occurred in the first three weeks after the upgrade. Previously, the SSA website experienced an average of 29 hours of downtime per week, the agency said.
The SSA also reported significant reductions in wait times, with the National 800 Number going from an average 30-minute hold time in 2024 to "single digits last month."
Field office wait times have fallen by 30 percent, according to the agency, and technology upgrades allowed about 30 percent of calls to be handled instantly—with 90 percent of calls resolved through self-service or callbacks.
The Social Security Administration field office building in San Jose, California, in 2020.
The Social Security Administration field office building in San Jose, California, in 2020.
GETTY
The news release also cited other operational improvements, including a 26 percent decrease in the initial disability claims backlog, a 60-day reduction in disability hearing wait times and an earlier-than-expected distribution of more than $17 billion in Social Security payments to more than 3.1 million beneficiaries under the Social Security Fairness Act.
"Our strategy is clear: serve customer needs quickly and completely, no matter how they contact us," SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in the news release. "We are empowering our workforce and embracing innovation to ensure Social Security properly supports the American people and remains strong for the next 90 years."
Criticism
Democrats and Social Security advocacy groups have been critical of the Trump administration's handling of the agency. Earlier this year, the federal agency announced it would cut its staffing level from 57,000 to 50,000, and work by the newly created Department of Government Efficiency has sparked concerns over recipient privacy.
"When President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law 90 years ago, he created a lifeline for the American people with a promise: work hard, and you can retire with dignity and peace of mind," Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in an email to Newsweek.
He continued: "But instead of honoring his own promise to protect Social Security, Donald Trump and his administration of billionaires have done everything in their power to undermine the program.
"Trump and his billionaires may never have to rely on Social Security to get by—but millions of hard-working Americans do, and that's why Democrats will always fight to protect it."
Democrats have been fighting back against the Trump administration's management of the SSA. Senators Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden have introduced the Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act, which would allow for hiring new staff, protecting data and modernizing services to reduce wait times.
"For too long, the SSA has been underfunded, understaffed, and bogged down by bureaucratic hurdles that hurt ordinary Americans," the senators wrote in a news release. "While billionaires continue to rig the system in their favor, millions of hardworking seniors and disabled Americans are left struggling to access the benefits they've earned."
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said in a statement marking the anniversary that there had been "unprecedented interference from the Trump administration" and that "severe cutbacks in SSA staff and needless policy changes have made it harder for Americans to access their earned benefits."
Confidence in Social Security has also waned in recent years. A survey conducted by the nonpartisan organization AARP, which advocates for older Americans, found that confidence in the future of the Social Security system had declined from 43 percent in 2020 to 36 percent in 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dollar braces for busy week of geopolitics and Fed speak
By Rae Wee SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The dollar dithered on Monday ahead of a key meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, while investors also looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium for more policy clues. Currency moves were largely subdued in the early Asia session, though the dollar steadied after last week's fall as traders further pared back bets of a jumbo Fed cut next month. The euro was little changed at $1.1705, while sterling edged up 0.07% to $1.3557. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar advanced slightly to 97.85, after losing 0.4% last week. Markets are now pricing in an 84% chance the Fed would ease rates by a quarter point next month, down from 98% last week, after a raft of data including a jump in U.S. wholesale prices last month and a solid increase in July's retail sales figures dimmed the prospect of an oversized 50-basis-point cut. "While the data don't all point in the same direction, the U.S. economy looks to be in okay shape in the third quarter," said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank. "The Fed is likely to cut interest rates by year-end, either in September, when markets now price in a cut, or a few months later, when Comerica forecasts a cut." The main event for investors on Monday is a meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy, who will be joined by some European leaders, as Washington presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. Trump is leaning on Zelenskiy to strike an agreement after he met Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Alaska and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first. Also key for markets this week will be the Kansas City Federal Reserve's August 21-23 Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook and the central bank's policy framework. "I think (Powell) will also talk about the current economic conditions in the U.S., and that will be more policy relevant, that will be more interesting to markets," said Joseph Capurso, head of international and sustainable economics at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "Given market pricing is very high for a rate cut in September, I think the risk is that Powell is hawkish, or is perceived to be hawkish, if he gives a balanced view of the U.S. economy." In other currencies, the dollar rose 0.11% against the yen to 147.34, after falling roughly 0.4% last week. Japan's government on Friday brushed aside rare and explicit comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent who said the Bank of Japan was "behind the curve" on policy, which appeared to be aimed at pressuring the country's central bank into raising interest rates. The Australian dollar was up 0.1% at $0.65145, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.15% to $0.5934, after falling 0.5% last week.
Wall Street Journal
23 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Strong Crop of Earnings Eases Investors' Economic Concerns
The job market is cooling. Tariff rates are rising. But American companies still seem to be doing just fine. With the latest earnings season nearly done, top- and bottom-line results from companies in the S&P 500 are handily beating expectations that had been lowered after President Trump announced sweeping duties on imports in April. Profits are expected to have risen around 12% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to FactSet, far ahead of the 5% growth analysts predicted in early July.
CNBC
23 minutes ago
- CNBC
CNBC Daily Open: 'Peace' can look different to Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy
There was no deal when U.S. President Donald Trump met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. That was not unexpected. The summit, which was initially arranged to discuss a ceasefire to Moscow's war in Ukraine, was on Tuesday reframed by White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt as a "listening exercise" that allowed Trump to get a "better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end." Prior to the summit, analysts were already casting doubt on the talks advancing any real ceasefire in Ukraine. "Let's be clear, Putin does not take Trump seriously," Tina Fordham, founder of Fordham Global Foresight, told CNBC. And the fact that the summit was scheduled — and Putin invited to Alaska, the first time he stepped on U.S. soil in about a decade — was already a "big win" for the Kremlin leader, according to a comment by Richard Portes, head of the economics faculty at the London Business School, before the meeting took place. While no agreement was reached, Trump on Friday described the meeting as "very productive" — and announced the next day that he would be pursuing a "peace agreement" rather than a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. But peace means very different things to the Ukraine, Russia and America. To one, it could be the complete halt of armed warfare and the retreat of foreign troops from its soil. To another, it might seem like acquiring annexed territory. And for some, it might look like a shiny golden coin engraved with the profile of Alfred Nobel, regardless of the prerequisites. Trump-Putin summit yields no ceasefire agreement. On Saturday, Trump said he would be pursuing a "peace agreement" between Ukraine and Russia. Putin has agreed that the U.S. and European nations could give Ukraine "Article 5-like" security guarantees, the White House said Sunday. OpenAI in share sales talk that would value it at $500 billion. The shares would be sold by current and former employees to investors including SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and Thrive Capital, according to a source. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperforms. Major stock indexes ended Friday mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising a fractional 0.08%. Europe's Stoxx 600 index ticked down marginally and closed near the flatline. A trip by U.S. trade officials to India has been called off. The visit, which was expected to take place between Aug. 25 and Aug. 29, will likely be rescheduled, according to Indian news broadcaster NDTV Profit. [PRO] Fedspeak to parse for the week. Minutes for the U.S. Federal Reserve's August meeting come out Wednesday, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at Jackson Hole, a symposium of economic policy, on Friday. They may give clues on policy path. Tech IPOs are roaring after 'years of Prohibition' — it may be too good The Bullish IPO last week took on added significance, perhaps because of the company name. When shares of the Peter Thiel-backed cryptocurrency exchange more than doubled out of the gate on Wednesday before finishing the day up 84%, it was the latest sign that the tech IPO bulls are back in business. But Lise Buyer, founder of IPO advisory firm Class V Group, warns that tech markets have a history of overheating.
