Why it may become harder to collect Social Security

Here & Now Anytime

WBUR

News

4.6 • 911 Ratings

🗓️ 20 March 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At the end of March, Social Security recipients will no longer be able to verify their identities over the phone. They'll have to go online or in-person to a Social Security office. AARP's Bill Sweeney explains what the change means for the 72 million Americans who rely on Social Security. And, President Trump is dismantling the Department of Education. The Washington Post's Laura Meckler talks about it means for schools and students. Then, Atlantic writer Derek Thompson joins us to discuss his new book "Abundance," written with the New York Times' Ezra Klein. In the book, they argue that to ensure a better future, America needs to invent more to combat issues like housing inaccessibility, climate change and food insecurity.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for here and now anytime comes from MathWorks, creator of MATLAB and Simulink software for technical computing and model-based design.
0:09.2	MathWorks accelerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science. Learn more at mathworks.com.
0:17.5	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:22.0	The thing about Social Security is that the times when you need to go to a Social Security office or you need to call Social Security tend to be the most stressful moments in a person's life.
0:32.0	The AARP says Social Security will be there for seniors, but Doge cuts are testing the system.
0:48.3	It's Thursday, March 20th, and this is here and now anytime, from N and WVUR. I'm Chris Bentley.
0:57.5	Today on the show, President Trump wants to close the Department of Education,
1:02.5	but he might not be able to do that by executive order alone.
1:07.0	Also, the abundance agenda, a vision of how America can get its groove back.
1:13.5	The authors of a new book say it's going to annoy some people who consider themselves liberals and environmentalists.
1:19.5	We're very optimistic in this book about the future that we can build in housing, in energy, in science and technology.
1:26.5	But when you get into the nitty-gritty of how to build that future, you have to pick some fights.
1:33.4	Which fights they want to pick coming up in about 15 minutes.
1:37.4	But first, big changes are ahead for the country's 73 million people getting social security benefits, many of whom live
1:46.1	on those payments they get in old age or on disability. By the end of March, new recipients will
1:52.1	need to go online or visit in person to register for benefits, as well existing users if they
1:58.2	want to change their direct deposit information, something that
2:01.3	was previously available over the phone. Elon Musk's Doge had originally planned on cutting out
2:08.3	all phone service, but walked that back after heavy criticism. In his White House special advisory role,
2:16.1	one of the world's richest men, has pushed false claims about widespread fraud in the social safety net.
2:22.3	Trump himself has promised not to cut Social Security, but he has repeated some of the same false claims as Musk,
2:29.2	who once described Social Security as, quote, the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. And the administration
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