What Trump Has Done With Social Security So Far
It has been one year since President Trump's inauguration. During this time, he has proposed, initiated, or rolled back changes to Social Security. How will you be impacted?
One year ago, President Trump was sworn in to his second term as president of the U.S. During this time, the administration has not cut Social Security benefits or changed the full retirement age. It has, however, introduced a temporary increase in the standard deduction for seniors and made various operational changes that have affected access to Social Security services.
The Trump administration has also initiated measures to improve customer service and reduce taxes for many seniors, although it did not fully eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits as promised.
Nearly 71 million people are projected to receive Social Security benefits in 2026, according to the most current announcements from the Social Security Administration (SSA). As such, President Trump's agenda, including several key changes to the program, could directly impact Social Security, a significant source of income for most people over age 65.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
In the past, as now, Trump has consistently pledged to "protect" Social Security without cutting benefits or raising the retirement age. However, critics argue that some operational changes have indirectly made access harder for beneficiaries, while supporters highlight tax relief and anti-fraud measures as strengthening the program.
Here’s what Trump has done with Social Security so far. A separate story looks at what Trump has done with Medicare so far.
Changes to Social Security in Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill'
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, after passing both the House and Senate. Despite the President's campaign pledge to eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits, the bill does not go that far. A full repeal would have required separate legislation, as reconciliation rules limit changes to Social Security programs, and it would have been far more expensive, with an estimated $1.4 trillion or more over 10 years.
Instead, the Bill introduces a temporary increase in the standard deduction for seniors age 65 and older by up to $6,000 per eligible person (or $12,000 for married couples filing jointly if both qualify) from tax years 2025 through 2028. This is in addition to the existing extra standard deduction for seniors, which is separate and ongoing.
The enhanced deduction phases out for higher earners, starting at $75,000 in adjusted gross income for single filers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly, per the IRS. Primarily, this limits benefits to lower- and middle-income seniors. The bill also includes various fiscal policy changes, such as cuts to Medicaid and adjustments in other spending areas.
The White House, Council of Economic Advisers, and SSA have claimed this effectively results in no federal income tax on Social Security benefits for about 88% of beneficiaries, as the enhanced deduction often exceeds taxable portions of average benefits for those groups.
Read: Five Surprising GOP Senate Bill Tax Changes to Know
Trump signs memo stating non-citizens ineligible for Social Security benefits
President Trump signed a memorandum on April 15, 2025, directing the Social Security Administration to take steps to ensure non-citizens who are ineligible for benefits don’t receive any from the SSA. These actions include:
expanding the SSA’s fraud prosecutor programs; investigating earnings reports of people 100 years old or older with mismatched records; and evaluating reinstatement of SSA’s civil monetary penalty program. The memo states that all non-citizens who have authorization to work in the U.S. must pay all of the existing Social Security and Medicare taxes, and may be able to draw benefits from those systems if they meet the eligibility requirements. In addition to other factors, permanent residents who are non-citizens have a 5-year residency requirement to access Medicare.
- Expanding the SSA’s fraud prosecutorprograms
- investigating earnings reports of people 100 years old or older with mismatched records
- Evaluating reinstatement of SSA’s civil monetary penalty program
The memo states that all non-citizens who have authorization to work in the U.S. must pay all of the existing Social Security and Medicare taxes, and may be able to draw benefits from those systems if they meet the eligibility requirements. In addition to other factors, permanent residents who are non-citizens have a 5-year residency requirement to access Medicare.
Read: Return to Your Home Country to Retire: Repatriation Retirement
If you have student loan debt in default, your SS checks may be at risk.
As of January 2026, the Department of Education has resumed aggressive collections on defaulted federal student loans through the Treasury Offset Program, which withholds tax refunds, certain federal payments, and, where applicable, Social Security benefits to collect delinquent debts owed to the government.
For borrowers in default beyond 30 days, administrative wage garnishment has begun rolling out, with notices sent starting early January, deducting up to 15% of disposable income from paychecks.
If you're in default, the Department recommends visiting the Debt Resolution website right away to submit a payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, or explore loan rehabilitation for relief and to potentially halt collections.
Read: Social Security New Rule: Overpayments Must Be Paid Back 100%. Why It Matters
Trump reinstates National Social Security month
First introduced in 2019 during President Trump’s first administration, National Social Security Month has been reinstated. In 2025, the awareness month ran from April through August 14, when Social Security celebrated its 90th Anniversary. National Social Security Month is a public awareness campaign held in April each year that is dedicated to helping Americans access their benefits. It was canceled during COVID-19 and did not resume under former President Biden.
Read: Americans Optimistic About Future Social Security Benefits
Changes to mySocial Security log-in
In July 2024, it was announced that users of Social Security's online services were required to create Login.gov accounts if they did not already have one. As a result, starting this past June 2025, the previous mySocialSecurity login option is no longer available.
Now, Login.gov and ID.me are the exclusive sign-in methods for accessing your Social Security online services. If you have a Login.gov or ID.me account, you can use your existing account to access your online account.
Read: 15 Social Security Tasks You Can Do Online
SSA pays out retroactive benefits
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has completed paying retroactive benefits and increasing monthly payments to over 3.1 million individuals whose benefits were previously reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). This change stems from the Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025.
Public sector employees (and others) whose Social Security benefits were reduced or eliminated by WEP and/or GPO should have noticed an increase in their monthly payments starting in April 2025 (reflecting adjustments for March 2025).
Also, most employees received one-time retroactive payments by mid-2025, covering the higher benefit amounts back to January 2024, the month when WEP and GPO no longer applied. These lump-sum payments totaled about $17 billion and were deposited directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts on file.
Read: Social Security Sent Out Billions in Back Payments This Week. Here's What You Need to Know.
The SSA closes federal offices
President Trump directed the General Services Administration (GSA) to terminate leases on thousands of federal offices, including some associated with the Social Security Administration (SSA), as part of broader efforts to reduce underutilized space.
However, the SSA has clarified that it has not permanently closed any local field offices. The agency is primarily identifying underutilized spaces for potential closure or consolidation.
As of January 2026, the SSA continues to operate at historically low staffing levels. This follows reductions of about 6,500–7,000 positions in 2025, raising concerns about the impact on services for beneficiaries.
Starting in April 2025, individuals can no longer apply for Social Security benefits or make changes to their direct deposit information over the phone in most cases. Instead, they must visit local offices or set up online accounts, which may be challenging for older individuals who have difficulty accessing computers or tablets.
The SSA has issued statements and press releases to reassure the public of its commitment to customer service and the absence of permanent local field office closures.
Read: 47 Local Social Security Offices to Close After DOGE Cuts
No more paper Social Security checks
Roughly 456,000 Americans (less than 1% of the total of around 72 million Social Security beneficiaries) receive paper Social Security checks.
An executive order signed by President Trump in March 2025 mandates that the federal government stop issuing paper Social Security checks, a change that took full effect on September 30, 2025.
If you previously received a paper check, you must have set up direct deposit or obtained a Direct Express card by that date to avoid any disruption in benefits.
Read: U.S. Treasury to Eliminate Paper Checks: What It Means for Tax Refunds, Social Security
Some workers to pay more Social Security taxes
Needless to say, the main source of funding for Social Security comes from payroll taxes, with most workers paying 6.2% of their earnings to Social Security and their employer matching their contribution. But high earners only pay Social Security taxes on a portion of their earnings.
The SSA increases the amount of taxable earnings every year to account for wage inflation. For 2025, the maximum taxable earnings was $176,100. That number rose to $184,500 in 2026, which means more revenue collection for Social Security, as some workers pay more in taxes.
Read: Six Changes Coming to Social Security in 2026
In-person identity verification
The Social Security Administration (SSA) reversed its initial plan to end most telephone applications for benefits and direct deposit changes. Instead, on April 14, 2025, the SSA implemented enhanced fraud prevention tools, allowing individuals to complete all claims via telephone.
Applications for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Medicare are exempt from in-person identity proofing and can still be fully completed over the phone. Direct deposit changes can also be requested by phone. The changes to this policy were made in response to backlash from advocates and lawmakers aiming to ensure that everyone could access most services via phone.
Recovering Social Security overpayments
Before March 27, 2025, the Social Security Administration (SSA) had a default withholding rate of 10% for recovering overpayments made in error by the agency.
However, the SSA restructured this policy in March 2025, initially planning 100% withholding for new overpayments. After further review and public feedback, the default rate was set to 50% for Title II overpayments, including retirement, survivors and disability overpayments, reviewed on or after April 25, 2025.
This means that any overpayment notices issued on or after that date will result in up to 50% of a beneficiary’s monthly Social Security benefits being withheld until repaid. For overpayments assessed before March 27, 2025, the previous 10% withholding rate still applies.
The Social Security Administration advises beneficiaries that they can request a lower repayment rate, appeal the overpayment decision, or seek a waiver if the overpayment was not their fault or if repayment would cause financial hardship.
Program expansion
This past August, 2025, the administration added 13 conditions to the Compassionate Allowances list, speeding up disability approvals for severe illnesses like certain cancers and rare diseases.
Recent tariffs proposed and implemented by Trump may temporarily raise inflation
Lowering inflation can have a positive effect on Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) by stabilizing prices. That, in turn, can help maintain the purchasing power of wages and benefits. However, recent tariffs proposed and implemented by Trump may temporarily raise inflation, complicating the efforts to achieve lower COLAs.
Tariffs enacted in 2025 have added pressure on prices for affected goods, contributing an estimated 0.5–0.7 percentage points to overall inflation during the year, according to analyses from sources like the Tax Foundation and Morningstar. This helped keep the CPI at around 2.7% year-over-year through December 2025, above the Fed's 2% target but far below the spikes seen in prior years.
What does that mean for consumers? The cost of certain imported goods like electronics, clothing, appliances, and some food items could see modest additional increases in 2026 if businesses pass on more of the remaining tariff-related expenses.
Read: Retirees Get a Raise in Their Social Security Benefits
Related Content
- Quiz: The COLA Challenge: Test Your Knowledge of Social Security
- Six Changes Coming to Social Security in 2026
- Seven Medicare Changes Coming in 2026
- The Average Monthly Social Security Check
- Social Security Turns 90 — Five Important Things to Know
- How Much Would Social Security's 2033 Shortfall Cost You?
-
The $3,000 Retirement Mistake Millions Make Each Year (And How to Avoid It)A little oversight or automation can keep money in your pocket.
-
January Fed Meeting: Live Updates and CommentaryThe January Fed meeting is a key economic event, with Wall Street waiting to see what Fed Chair Powell & Co. will do about interest rates.
-
7 Ways to Kick Off an Estate Planning Talk With Your ParentsIt can be hard for aging parents to discuss estate plans — and for adult kids to broach the topic. Here are seven questions to get the conversation started
-
The $3,000 Retirement Mistake Millions Make Each Year (And How to Avoid It)
A little oversight or automation can keep money in your pocket.
-
7 Questions to Help Kick Off an Estate Planning Talk With Your Parents
It can be hard for aging parents to discuss estate plans — and for adult kids to broach the topic. Here are seven questions to get the conversation started
-
The Top 10 Side Gigs For Retirees In 2026Money is freedom in retirement; here’s how to earn more of it with a profitable side gig
-
3 Retirement Changes to Watch in 2026: Tax EditionRetirement Taxes Between the Social Security "senior bonus" phaseout and changes to Roth tax rules, your 2026 retirement plan may need an update. Here's what to know.
-
The 'Yes, And...' Rule for RetirementRetirement rarely follows the script. That’s why the best retirees learn to improvise.
-
What Not to Do After Inheriting Wealth: 4 Mistakes That Could Cost You EverythingGen X and Millennials are expected to receive trillions of dollars in inheritance. Unless it's managed properly, the money could slip through their fingers.
-
'The Money Prism' Solves Retirement Money's Biggest Headache: Here's HowThis simple, three-zone system (Blue for bills, Green for paycheck, Red for growth) helps you organize your retirement savings by purpose and time.
-
No, AI Can't Plan Your Retirement: This (Human) Investment Adviser Explains WhyAI has infinite uses. But creating an accurate retirement strategy based on your unique goals is one place where its possibilities seem lacking.
