President Trump marked the 90th anniversary of Social Security on Thursday with a proclamation touting his recent tax overhaul — but critics say the changes could actually push the program closer to insolvency.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump promised to “always defend Social Security” while praising his new tax law, which he described as delivering “the largest tax break for seniors in the history of our country.” The law, passed in July, grants a temporary $6,000 tax deduction for Americans aged 65 and older.
However, analysts — including the Social Security Administration’s own chief actuary — warn the plan will disproportionately benefit upper-middle-class retirees while potentially draining the program’s trust funds faster. Projections now show the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) funds could be depleted by early 2034, months sooner than previous estimates.
Trump also claimed his administration is eliminating “tremendous fraud” and targeting illegal immigrants in the system, while simultaneously pursuing workforce cuts at the agency. Critics fear such reductions could hurt service for millions of beneficiaries.
SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano, present at the event, touted plans to make the agency “digital first,” aiming for 200 million Americans to have online SSA accounts by the end of next year. While the administration paints this as modernization, skeptics say the shift risks leaving behind seniors without reliable internet access — the very people Social Security was designed to protect.
