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The Trump administration continues to gaslight the American people about its interference in the workings of the Social Security Administration (SSA). So it’s time for another fact-check. Trump’s DOGE squad savagely cut staff, closed field offices, and erected barriers for beneficiaries attempting to access their earned benefits — as part of a phony hunt for ‘fraud’ (which, in fact, is extremely rare).
Now, Commissioner Frank Bisignano is misleading the public by claiming that these actions have ‘improved’ customer service, when they have, in fact, made things significantly worse. On the 90th anniversary of Social Security in August, SSA posted an ‘un-truthy’ letter from Bisignano to the American people on its website.
We asked our director of government relations and policy, Dan Adcock, to knock down the false claims by Trump’s Social Security commissioner:
FALSE CLAIM #1:
“President Trump has been resolute in his promise to protect and preserve Social Security. Last month, the President delivered historic tax relief for America’s seniors when he signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” into law. A provision in the Bill eliminated federal income taxes on Social Security for most beneficiaries, ensuring that retirees can keep more of the benefits they earned.” – Commissioner Frank Bisignano
THE FACTS:
Trump’s “Unfair, Ugly Bill” does NOT eliminate income taxes on Social Security benefits. It does provide a temporary tax break for some higher-income seniors. At the same time, Social Security’s Chief Actuary projects that the new law will advance the insolvency date of the Social Security trust funds by six months.
If Congress does not act to solve this looming crisis, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the additional loss of revenue means every Social Security beneficiary will see their benefits cut by about 24 percent once the trust funds are depleted, almost five percent deeper than if the provision had not been enacted.
Under prior law, nearly one-half of seniors already did not pay any income tax, including on their Social Security benefits, which means the increased senior deduction does not provide them any benefit at all. But they will be exposed to potential across-the-board cuts if Congress does not address the now-accelerated insolvency of the Trust Funds.
FALSE CLAIM #2:
“In addition, we have updated our authentication tools for serving you online and over the phone to ensure we pay benefits only to those who are eligible for receive them.” – Commissioner Frank Bisignano
THE FACTS:
“The Social Security Administration has taken this emergency action without public consultation and with absolutely no evidence that significant fraud exists. (The actual fraud rate on SSA’s phone lines is statistically infinitesimal.) SSA has created an unsurmountable obstacle for millions of older Americans and people with disabilities who lack internet access (or competency navigating online) by requiring them to have a “Security Authentication PIN.” This PIN now will be needed to make simple transactions, such as generating a benefit verification letter, requesting a tax statement, changing an address or inquiring about the status of a claim – all of which can currently be done by phone.
Without proper internet competency or access, beneficiaries who want to conduct any of these transactions will be forced to wait on average 35 days or more to make an appointment at a SSA field office. They will be further disadvantaged by the reduction of staff at field offices, some of which have been reassigned to the SSA toll free phone service. Perhaps if the Trump administration had not recklessly slashed SSA’s workforce, it would not be forced to triage backlogs and create fictional claims of fraud.
FALSE CLAIM #3:
“To eliminate the opportunity for fraud using Social Security numbers, we added over 12.4 million individuals aged 120 and over to the Death Master File.” – Commissioner Frank Bisignano
THE FACTS:
There was little to no fraud in Social Security due to benefits being collected for deceased beneficiaries. The deceased beneficiaries identified by DOGE staff, Elon Musk and President Trump where part of a data base that is not used to make payments. Instead, the Social Security death master filed was inappropriately used by error-prone SSA political appointees to stop benefit payments to around 6,000 people and who were also prevented from conducting any financial transactions, like buying a house or car or opening a bank account. Of these 6,000 people, most were legal residents who were victims of this improper practice. They were forced to visit understaffed SSA field office to prove they were alive AND legally eligible to receive Social Security benefits.
FALSE CLAIM #4: “(Before DOGE took over, you experienced long wait times that caused frustration and reduced trust in a program we cherish. The data speaks for itself. The average speed of answer on the National 800 Number reached an all-time high of 42 minutes in November 2023; field office wait times spiked to 32 minutes in February 2024; and the disability claims backlog reached an all-time high of more than 1.25 million in June 2024.” – Commissioner Frank Bisignano
THE FACTS:
Bisignano’s data is highly misleading. The numbers have been skewed to make it appear that the Trump administration has improved customer service, which is the opposite of reality. (See CNN’s excellent reporting on this issue here.) The commissioner makes it seem as if SSA service worsened during the Biden years, when, in fact, under the leadership of former Commissioner Martin O’Malley, it got better.
During O’Malley’s tenure, average call wait times on SSA’s 1-800 number fell to under 13 minutes by the end of 2024, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims backlog hit a 30-year low, and SSA productivity improved by more than 6% in 2024.
On Bisignano’s watch, though, the agency has manipulated performance data to appear more rosy — or outright removed such numbers to prevent independent analysis. This statistical sleight of hand isn’t just misleading — it’s a breach of public trust. Social Security is the bedrock of retirement income and disability support for millions of Americans. Misrepresenting its operations does a disservice to the very people the SSA is supposed to serve.
We suspect that the Trump administration’s reckless actions at SSA are designed to sabotage the agency, so that their allies in the private sector can take over. Trump and DOGE are breaking SSA so it can be ‘saved’ through privatization. That may serve the interests of wealthy donors, but not the American people, who pay for SSA services as part of their payroll contributions to the Social Security program.
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Listen to our podcast interview with former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley here.
Watch our documentary about the 90th anniversary of Social Security here.