Hacker News with Generative AI: Social Security

Doge Plans to Rebuild SSA Codebase in Months (wired.com)
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is starting to put together a team to migrate the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) computer systems entirely off one of its oldest programming languages in a matter of months, potentially putting the integrity of the system—and the benefits on which tens of millions of Americans rely—at risk.
How the Social Security Administration is dodging a federal court order (muskwatch.com)
The Trump administration has installed a DOGE operative as the new Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Social Security Administration (SSA) in an apparent effort to evade a federal court order blocking DOGE affiliates from accessing databases containing the sensitive personal information of millions of Americans.
A man's quest to show the Social Security Administration he's alive and kicking (cnn.com)
Judge bars Musk's DOGE team from Social Security records in scathing ruling (cnbc.com)
Doge Social Security Closures: Recipients Need to Visit Offices to Get Benefits (gizmodo.com)
As Elon Musk’s DOGE targets the Social Security Administration for cuts and reorganization, the agency is rolling out new rules for benefit recipients that could spur chaos and dysfunction at the agency.
Social Security Admin to require in-person ID checks for new&existing recipients (apnews.com)
In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures — which will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone.
Here's a 'dead' person on Social Security in Seattle, with plenty to say (seattletimes.com)
“DOGE Has 10 Staffers at Social Security in Hunt for Dead People,” the headlines read this past week.
Doge Pushes Social Security Administration to Cut Off Phone Service (newsweek.com)
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is considering making significant reductions to its phone services amid pressure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to crack down on purported fraud, waste and abuse the Washington Post reported, citing two sources familiar with internal discussions and records the paper obtained.
Social Security Administration Cuts Will Affect You (prospect.org)
A timely research paper looking at SSA staff cuts in the 1980s found that it led to tens of thousands of Americans not getting their earned benefits.
Musk Calls Entitlements the 'Big One' to Cut, Countering Trump (bloomberg.com)
Billionaire presidential adviser Elon Musk called entitlement spending — benefits including Social Security and Medicare — key targets for cuts, an assertion that directly contradicts President Donald Trump’s pledge to not touch those programs.
Social Security Workers Aren't Allowed to Read This Story (wired.com)
Employees at the Social Security Administration (SSA) were informed on Thursday morning that new rules forbid them from accessing “general news” websites, including those that have been at the forefront of the reporting on Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort.
Elon Musk Calls Social Security a Ponzi Scheme as He Destroys the US Government (gizmodo.com)
Elon Musk called Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme” in a discussion with podcaster Joe Rogan that was released online Friday. And it’s just the latest rhetorical assault by a member of the Trump regime on America’s social safety net as Musk continues to lay off thousands of federal workers and illegally stop payments at several government agencies.
Social Security Administration plans to cut some 7k jobs (npr.org)
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Friday that it aims to cut some 7,000 jobs to align with an executive order from President Trump to broadly slash the federal workforce.
The Truth About Social Security and Dead People (bloomberg.com)
There’s a reason millions of people are not listed as deceased in the main database when they should be, but it's not the fraud that Elon Musk and Trump say it is.
Trump official calls Social Security 'wrong' with groundwork for cuts (independent.co.uk)
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are ramping up baseless claims that tens of millions of dead people are collecting Social Security payments, laying the groundwork to cut out “waste” and “fraud” as they look to make dramatic cuts for some of the most expensive programs in the federal budget to pay for astronomical tax cuts for America’s wealthiest households.
DOGE Said It Cut $232M from Social Security. It Was Only About Half a Mil (theintercept.com)
The “Department of Government Efficiency” claimed to have saved the American taxpayer nearly $232 million by canceling an IT contract for the Social Security Administration.
So many Americans died from Covid, it's boosting Social Security (fortune.com)
New research finds Social Security will pay out $205 billion less in future benefits owing to COVID-related premature deaths.
150-Year-Olds Aren't Collecting Social Security Benefits (wired.com)
Elon Musk claims to have found rampant fraud in the Social Security Administration. There's a much simpler explanation.
Top Social Security Official Leaves After Musk Team Seeks Data Access (nytimes.com)
The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down this weekend after members of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency sought access to sensitive personal data about millions of Americans held by the agency, according to people familiar with the matter.
Numberholders Age 100 or Older Who Did Not Have Death Information on Numident [pdf] (oig.ssa.gov)
Are DOGE's Claims of Social Security Payments to 150-Year-Olds Way Off Base? (slashdot.org)
China's single-child generation frets over country's pension system (channelnewsasia.com)
China’s pension system has been under immense pressure due to a rapidly ageing population and declining birth rates, which means more looking to receive payments but fewer working and funding the system.
Hackers may have stolen the Social Security numbers of every American (latimes.com)
Hackers may have leaked the Social Security Numbers of every American (engadget.com)
Every social security number possibly leaked in data breach (latimes.com)
Hackers leak 2.7B data records with Social Security numbers (bleepingcomputer.com)
Social Security now expected to run short on funds in 2035, one year later (cnbc.com)
Social Security retirees face automatic cut in 9 years (npr.org)