President Donald Trump will issue a proclamation on Thursday celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act. He will highlight his administration’s work to improve the program, including new rules that will allow most seniors to pay no taxes on their Social Security benefits.
The Social Security Act was signed in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It was created to provide a safety net for Americans facing unemployment, illness, disability, death, or old age.
In his statement, President Trump called the Act “a monumental legislative achievement” and said it remains based on a simple promise: people who have spent their lives building the nation should always have support and stability in retirement.
The White House says Trump’s policies have made Social Security “stronger and more resilient than ever.” This includes upgrades to technology, shorter customer service wait times, and clearing backlogs of disability claims.
Some Democrats have criticized Trump’s approach, claiming his cuts to the Social Security Administration’s workforce could hurt the program. But the administration argues the opposite, pointing to over 3.1 million early payments—worth $17 billion—made to eligible recipients, and an 80% drop in call wait times (from 30 minutes last year to just 6 minutes now).
A major point in Trump’s proclamation is a provision in last month’s Republican spending bill that will let the majority of Social Security recipients pay zero taxes on their benefits. Trump calls it “the largest tax break for seniors in the history of our country.”
The president also says his team is working to stop fraud and abuse, including improper payments to deceased people.
“On this 90th Anniversary of the Social Security Act,” Trump wrote, “we honor every American senior who has helped build our nation. We pledge to keep strengthening our retirement system so every future generation can have the income security they’ve earned.”
