XPost: alt.social-security-disability, alt.politics.trump, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: invalid@dont-email.me   
      
   The Social Security Administration this week sent out an email to   
   many Americans celebrating the passage of President Donald Trump’s   
   domestic policy bill, and touting the measure’s tax relief for   
   seniors, in a move that analysts said strayed from the agency’s   
   typically apolitical nature.   
      
   “This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said   
   Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano in the message. “By   
   significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation   
   reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security and   
   helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they’ve   
   earned.”   
      
   The email — which was also sent to people not yet eligible for   
   Social Security benefits — linked to a blog post on the agency’s   
   website noting that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries   
   will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.   
      
   Although Trump campaigned last year on eliminating taxes on Social   
   Security benefits, congressional Republicans were not able to   
   fulfill that promise in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” because of the   
   rules surrounding reconciliation, the process Senate Republicans   
   used to approve the package without Democratic support.   
      
   Instead, the legislation will provide senior citizens with a $6,000   
   boost to their standard deduction from 2025 through 2028. The   
   benefit will start to phase out for individuals with incomes of   
   more than $75,000 and married couples with incomes of more than   
   $150,000.   
      
   Trump, GOP lawmakers and administration officials have repeatedly   
   claimed the package eliminates taxes on Social Security benefits.   
   But that is not in the legislation, and the enhanced deduction   
   would not be available to everyone who receives monthly payments   
   from the agency — like people who elect to start receiving benefits   
   at 62 but who are not yet 65.   
      
   In an article released Tuesday titled “No Tax on Social Security is   
   a Reality in the One Big Beautiful Bill,” the White House shared an   
   analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers which said 88% of   
   the 58.5 million seniors age 65-plus who receive Social Security   
   would not pay taxes on their benefits.   
      
   But just over 7 million seniors would have taxable Social Security   
   income that would exceed the enhanced deduction and existing   
   standard and senior deductions, the analysis found.   
      
   As for protecting Social Security, the package is expected to   
   reduce the total taxation of benefits by about $30 billion a year,   
   which would hasten the insolvency of the program’s retirement trust   
   fund from early 2033 to late 2032, according to an analysis by the   
   Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. It would accelerate the   
   insolvency of Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund from late   
   2033 to mid-2032.   
      
   Plus, many seniors would not benefit from either the enhanced   
   deduction or the elimination of taxation on monthly benefits   
   because their incomes are too low, according to the Bipartisan   
   Policy Center. Social Security benefits are not included in taxable   
   income from about half of beneficiaries.   
      
   SSA’s email breaks from norms, analysts say   
   The statement was out of the ordinary for many Americans because   
   the SSA director is generally expected to be apolitical, though the   
   agency has received criticism for partisan comments in recent   
   months.   
      
   Martin O’Malley, who served as commissioner during the Biden   
   administration, was found in May to have violated the Hatch Act for   
   saying in late 2024 that Trump would “deplete Social Security” if   
   his proposals were enacted.   
      
   “I certainly can’t tell anybody who to vote for, but I can tell you   
   that the proposals that are coming from Donald Trump would quickly   
   deplete Social Security, and we wouldn’t be able to pass it on to   
   our kids as our grandparents passed it on to us,” O’Malley said   
   during an interview with WPTF Morning News last October.   
      
   Kathleen Romig, a former senior advisor at SSA during the Biden   
   administration, told CNN she’s received several emails and text   
   messages from people asking her why they received the email,   
   because they haven’t received a similar statement before.   
      
   “People are like, ‘is this real? Is this a scam?’ Because it it’s   
   not what they signed up for. It doesn’t sound like normal   
   government communications, official communications,” Romig said.   
   “It sounds like, you know, partisan.”   
      
   Some people took to social media to question and condemn the   
   political nature of the email.   
      
   “I am not a Social Security recipient but even if I was: Why am I   
   getting an email from SSA celebrating this legislation? How is this   
   an appropriate use of that ostensibly massive database?” reads an X   
   post from Amanda Litman, the president and co-founder of Run for   
   Something, which recruits progressive candidates for down-ballot   
   races.   
      
   Jeff Nesbit, former deputy commissioner for communications at the   
   agency, also criticized the email in an X post: “Unbelievable. I   
   was a deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration.   
   Appointed by President Biden. The agency has never issued such a   
   blatant political statement. The fact that Trump and his minion   
   running SSA has done this is unconscionable.”   
      
   Romig warned that the population SSA serves, including seniors and   
   people with disabilities, could be more vulnerable to scammers and   
   phishing attempts.   
      
   “It’s really important that we try to protect them from thinking   
   that legitimate communications are illegitimate, and vice versa,”   
   she said. “And I think when we start to blur the line between what   
   is legitimate, official and trustworthy communications from   
   official government channels, then it does open the door for people   
   to not trust what they’re getting that is official.”   
      
   SSA did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.   
      
   https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/04/politics/social-security-   
   administration-trump-bill-email   
      
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