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#1
19th April 2025, 09:37 PM
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Update on Social Security and benefits.
Today was our family Easter party. I cornered my second cousin’s husband, a Social Security employee and asked him what’s going on with Musk, benefits, etc. here’s pretty much what is happening from his side.
Musk isn’t screwing with it. There are some personnel cuts being made but not to workers who deal with the public. Mail room employees for instance are being offered 20 grand to leave or choose to be trained to work with public contact jobs. Managers will take over mail room duties. Your ability to get help will NOT be lost. His advice is to go online and set up an appointment and have a time reserved to help you. If you need immediate help, as in you didn’t get your check you can still go in, but you’ll be in a line, a long line. Fraud, ID verifications (make appointment) and benefit cuts. ID VERF is needed to change direct deposit account, unless you do it online. This is because of fraud. He said he’s seen a lot of it. A 90 year old man’s account would be changed by someone who sounded much younger on the phone. Or a person born and raised in CA would call in to change the deposit account, but have a heavy accent like someone from India. In all those cases they would have all the information, mother’s maiden etc, so the worker was helpless to do anything because they had the correct identifying information. Although he did say he asked a question that wasn’t on the form, like your dog’s name (he wasn’t suppose to) and the person would ask why he asked that. To verify he’d say. They hung up. Now there will be no phone contacts for deposit account changes. He said there is a lot of fraud. BENEFIT CUTS. He’s heard nothing of that happening. He also said that they are being forced to return to the office. Productivity is down with home working, and no one likes to have to give up working at home. It is pretty much the new workers hired during the pandemic who got spoiled and are moaning about it. KILLING ACCTS. Okay, turn 100 and they will look at your account to verify you’re still alive. They will check Medicare records and see if you have any activity on your account, like hospitalizations, pharmacy billings, doctor visits, etc . If you do, you’ll never know your account was checked. If there is no activity, then you’ll get a letter or a phone call. if there is no response after a few attempts, your account dies. The big take away from out talk is to do as much as you can on line. If you need personal help, make an appointment. As far as he knows, there is nothing to fear about your social security benefits when your time comes to apply. He also recommended being prepared. Have your info available. It’s late, this is entered on my iPad, so typing is error prone. Hope this helps some of you. 
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#2
20th April 2025, 11:48 AM
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Currently the feds spend about 22% of their budget on Social Security. It's the biggest public program on their books. (By comparison, Medicare eats up 14% and defense spending costs 13%, per 2023 figures.) I don't know the breakdown over how much payroll taxes cover versus what the feds contribute, but I'm told overall payroll taxes have been steadily decreasing since the 1970s, with additional retirees increasing exponentially in the future. Funding is forecast to end, or become insolvent, by 2033, unless congress makes changes to the program.
There's been a push to cap eligibility on wealthy recipients in order to extend the funding available to those who need it the most. We might look on this as a no-brainer, but I know someone who is retired and collecting SS as well as union benefits and other investments (401Ks and ROTH), and is also supporting three grandkids in college as well as a parent in memory care. (Yeah, rich peoples problems, wish I had 'em. But all three kids are on serious career trajectories and not into the party scene.)
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#3
20th April 2025, 04:10 PM
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Quote:
Many federal employees only knew they were fired when they showed up for work one morning and their badge didn't work: your second cousin's husband only knows what trusk wants them to know. and trusk (I mean all of them, everyone backing project 2025) absolutely know that pulling apart SS will be hugely unpopular so why wouldn't they hide it?
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#5
21st April 2025, 04:22 AM
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Quote:
 But, honestly, it's always a good reminder to seize the day because we really can't count on anything. 
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