Hacker News with Generative AI: Social Security

Social Security Administration Moving Public Communications to X (wired.com)
The Social Security Administration will no longer be communicating with the media and the public through press releases and “dear colleague” letters, as it shifts its public communication exclusively to X, sources tell WIRED.
Social Media, Government, Communication, Social Security
229 points by EasyMark 14 days ago | 177 comments
White House Moves to Cancel Migrant's Social Security Numbers (nytimes.com)
By placing migrants in Social Security’s “death master file,” the Trump administration is seeking to cut off their access to credit cards, bank accounts and other financial services.
Politics, Immigration, Social Security, Law
19 points by pmags 15 days ago | 5 comments
Doge 'didn't test' Social Security fraud detection tool at appropriate scale (theregister.com)
The United States Social Security Administration's internet portal has frequently gone offline in recent weeks, and presented inaccurate or incomplete information to users, perhaps because of changes steered by Elon Musk's cost-trimming DOGE unit.
Social Security, Government, Elon Musk, Technology, Security
32 points by pseudolus 17 days ago | 16 comments
Doge 'didn't test' Social Security fraud detection tool at appropriate scale (theregister.com)
The United States Social Security Administration's internet portal has frequently gone offline in recent weeks, and presented inaccurate or incomplete information to users, perhaps because of changes steered by Elon Musk's cost-trimming DOGE unit.
Social Security, Government, Elon Musk, Software, Cybersecurity
15 points by JustExAWS 17 days ago | 0 comments
Social Security website keeps crashing, as DOGE demands cuts to IT staff (bostonglobe.com)
Social Security, Cryptocurrency, Government, Technology, Finance
18 points by rawgabbit 17 days ago | 2 comments
Social Security Website Crashes Blamed on Doge Software Update (gizmodo.com)
Elon Musk’s war on fraud and abuse has impacted the Social Security Administration’s ability to distribute payments, according to a new report.
Social Security, Software, Elon Musk, Government, Fraud
22 points by molybdenum_plus 18 days ago | 4 comments
DOGE's Plan to Rewrite Social Security's Code in Months (yahoo.com)
The Social Security Administration is facing a potential overhaul of its computer systems, one that could disrupt the benefits of millions of Americans who rely on these payments.
Social Security, Cryptocurrency, Government, Technology, Finance
31 points by AnimalMuppet 20 days ago | 29 comments
Doge wants to modernize Social Security's tech: what could possibly go wrong? (computerworld.com)
The Social Security Administration (SSA) payment system has more than 60 million lines of COBOL code. That makes it one of the world’s largest, not to mention oldest, codebases. Everyone agrees it needs to be updated. But, sorry, there’s no way it can be updated in mere months.
Social Security, Technology, Government, Programming Languages
16 points by CrankyBear 22 days ago | 10 comments
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.
Government, Technology, Social Security, Risk
123 points by danso 29 days ago | 130 comments
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.
Politics, Government, Social Security, Cybersecurity
9 points by chmaynard 31 days ago | 0 comments
A man's quest to show the Social Security Administration he's alive and kicking (cnn.com)
Social Security, Bureaucracy, Government, Identity
9 points by zfg 35 days ago | 1 comments
Judge bars Musk's DOGE team from Social Security records in scathing ruling (cnbc.com)
Law, Social Security, Cryptocurrency, Elon Musk
21 points by rntn 36 days ago | 1 comments
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, Politics, Elon Musk, Cryptocurrency, Government
36 points by rntn 36 days ago | 14 comments
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.
Social Security, Government, Fraud, Identity Verification, Policy
50 points by petethomas 38 days ago | 45 comments
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.
Social Security, Seattle, Fraud, Government, Crime
10 points by howard941 41 days ago | 1 comments
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.
Government, Social Security, Fraud, Policy
14 points by qclibre22 44 days ago | 3 comments
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.
Social Security, Government, Economics, Policy
14 points by leotravis10 44 days ago | 0 comments
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.
Politics, Social Security, Medicare, Economics, United States
22 points by toomuchtodo 46 days ago | 8 comments
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.
Social Security, Government, Elon Musk, News Censorship, Government Efficiency
9 points by coloneltcb 50 days ago | 0 comments
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, Elon Musk, Politics, Government
20 points by rntn 54 days ago | 9 comments
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.
Social Security, Government, Politics, Employment, Labor
12 points by geox 56 days ago | 0 comments
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.
Social Security, Politics, Misinformation
13 points by toomuchtodo 61 days ago | 4 comments
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.
Politics, Social Security, Government Spending, Taxes
23 points by throw0101a 64 days ago | 14 comments
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.
Politics, Government Spending, Social Security, Misinformation
158 points by ceejayoz 64 days ago | 44 comments
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.
Social Security, COVID-19, Economics, Demographics
26 points by askl 65 days ago | 2 comments
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.
Social Security, Fraud, Elon Musk, Misinformation
15 points by ConfusedDog 67 days ago | 4 comments
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.
Politics, Privacy, Social Security, Elon Musk, Government
36 points by 2OEH8eoCRo0 67 days ago | 26 comments
Numberholders Age 100 or Older Who Did Not Have Death Information on Numident [pdf] (oig.ssa.gov)
Data Analysis, Social Security, Longevity
16 points by ZeroGravitas 68 days ago | 7 comments
Are DOGE's Claims of Social Security Payments to 150-Year-Olds Way Off Base? (slashdot.org)
Cryptocurrency, Social Security, Dogecoin
82 points by theodpHN 70 days ago | 108 comments
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.
China, Demographics, Pensions, Social Security
9 points by sohkamyung 143 days ago | 0 comments