MAJOR ALERT regarding Social Security and DOGE
Please forward widely!
MAJOR ALERT: Changes announced by DOGE to the Social Security
Administration will inevitably result in many seniors not receiving
their payments as expected.
For anyone who isn't computer literate, comfortable using computers,
or otherwise does not access their Social Security accounts online,
changes announced by Elon Musk's DOGE to SSA support could be
devastating.
Originally, it was reported that DOGE planned to shut down or vastly
curtail virtually all SSA phone support services -- generally
considered to be among the best staffed and most helpful of federal
government call centers.
After that report leaked, it was announced that instead of a major
close down of phone support, it would henceforth not be possible to
change direct deposit payment information by phone, instead requiring
use of the Internet with two-factor authentication, or a physical
visit to an SSA office.
This alone will be a disaster for many seniors and other Social
Security beneficiaries.
SSA (under DOGE control) claims that 40% of SS deposit fraud is
conducted via changes made by phone. Perhaps that figure is accurate.
But there are many reasons to doubt any figures that relate to
anything DOGE does. Reports indicate that their claims of savings
across the federal government are vastly less than they are claiming,
and Trump/Musk continue to claim that accounts associated with long
dead persons are still receiving SS payments -- a claim that has been
totally discredited.
But the bottom line is even simpler. People who aren't using computers
to access their SSA accounts are going to be the very same people who
will be most at risk of not receiving payments after these DOGE
changes, since their only alternative to update their information
after changes or problems with their checking accounts or other
deposit accounts would be physically going in to SSA offices.
Many SSA recipients are infirm and with limited (if any) mobility --
traveling to SSA offices would be impossible for them. Meanwhile, DOGE
is CLOSING nearly 50 SSA offices, making reaching SSA offices
physically even more difficult.
I haven't seen specific discussion regarding any changes related to SS
recipients who choose to receive their payments by physical checks,
but in any case this would seem to be an impractical and not timely
fallback for direct deposit users affected by these DOGE changes,
given the likely delays and other DOGE impacts on SSA, even assuming
switching to physical checks could be done by phone.
This is a DISASTER in the making. Many SS recipients depend on these
payments every month to even minimally survive. Trump/Musk/DOGE is
putting these persons lives at risk.
This must be stopped.
L
- - -
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
[email protected] (https://www.vortex.com/lauren)
Lauren's Blog: https://lauren.vortex.com
Mastodon: https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/@lauren
Signal: By request on need to know basis
Founder: Network Neutrality Squad: https://www.nnsquad.org
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Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility
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