Social Security And The Trump Administration

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4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

We recently spoke with personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary about how to manage money during times of uncertainty. Dozens of our listeners wrote it in with worries about the future of social security.

It's perhaps one of the most popular government programs in the country. Around 87 percent of Americans say social security should be a priority no matter what the state of the federal budget is. That's according to the National Institute on Retirement Security.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he doesn't plan to cut social security benefits. But he's also made some comments to the contrary.

We discuss the Trump administration's plans for the agency — and what they mean for the benefits it oversees.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	These days, there's so much news. It can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family, and your community.
0:06.4	The Consider This Podcast from NPR features our award-winning journalism.
0:10.7	Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news.
0:17.5	We get behind the headlines. We get to the truth.
0:24.1	Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR.
0:38.5	We spoke with personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary last week about how to manage your money during times of uncertainty.
0:44.3	And a clear theme emerged. Many of you have concerns about the future of Social Security.
0:50.5	One of you wrote, I'm an organ recipient and on numerous medications that total thousands a month.
0:55.6	I'm also on both Medicare and Social Security, so I feel extremely vulnerable to potential cuts to them. My life depends on those medications. And another of you asked, do you advise people
1:01.3	close to retirement to no longer factor Social Security into retirement plans? I was hoping to
1:06.3	retire next year, but if Social Security goes away, I don't think I'll ever be able to afford to.
1:11.9	Today, we discuss the future of Social Security. It's perhaps one of the most popular
1:16.0	government programs in the country. Around 87% of Americans say Social Security should be a priority
1:22.1	regardless of the state of the federal budget. That's according to the National Institute on
1:26.6	Retirement Security. President Trump has repeatedly said he doesn't plan to cut social security benefits,
1:32.4	but he also said this during his address to Congress earlier this month.
1:36.0	We're also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security
1:42.9	program for our seniors and that our seniors and people
1:47.8	that we love rely on. There's no evidence that the Social Security Administration is experiencing
1:53.2	high levels of fraud. More than 71 million Americans rely on the retirement and disability benefits
1:59.7	from the agency, including some of you.
2:02.4	My family depends on my Social Security disability check every month, and I'm very worried that
	...

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