Seniors stoic about Social Security
Staff writer
Since the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, rumors have swirled about changes to Social Security.
President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would not cut funding to the program. A White House press release in March reiterated the promise.
But during Trump’s first months in charge, DOGE has tested the waters. Recent tweaks to the program might stretch local resources thin.
In February, 2024. Musk called Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”
This February, he and Trump falsely claimed tens of millions of dead people more than 100 years old were collecting benefits.
Soon after, the Social Security Administration announced it was reducing its staff by 7,000, and the Associated Press found that DOGE planned to cancel leases on 47 regional offices.
A recent tweak also points to a more streamlined vision for Social Security. Beginning this month, the agency requires users to go online or in-person to change direct deposit information. Previously, changes could be made by phone.
Social Security backtracked on a March 26 release that said anyone applying would have to do so online or in-person.
Trump also signed an executive order March 25 that will see the government stop issuing paper checks in September. Paper checks commonly are how seniors receive benefits.
Half of the seniors that county Department on Aging director Lu Turk works with request paper.
Turk said many seniors did not possess online Social Security accounts when the changes were announced. She has helped seven sign up.
She worries that shifting to online services might stretch her office’s resources thin.
“It is going to have an impact on the office,” she said. “The people I deal with, a lot of them do not want to deal with a computer. I’m their fingers; I’m their eyes.”
Her department soon may be taking more seniors to a Social Security office in Salina.
“We can do it as long as we’ve got volunteers to drive the van,” Turk said.
She has one reliable volunteer driver. Others have health issues and cannot always make trips, she said.
Most seniors interviewed by the Record said they were not worried about changes or potential cuts.
Clarita Caudell, who has been dependent on Social Security for 21 years, said that she never had issues and that the idea of cuts was “a scare tactic.”
Sharron Schutte agreed, saying that Social Security “absolutely helps” her and her husband, George.
“I’m not worried about Social Security,” she said. “They ain’t taking it away. If you just all let it take its course, we’ll come out ahead. I think our country will be better.”
Social Security recipient Gene Winkler praised DOGE’s efforts in looking to curtail Social Security fraud.
“If you believe the news, they say they got people 120 years old still on Social Security,” he said. “If that’s true, they definitely need to do something about that.”
But Winkler also said he was unsure whether recent changes would be good for seniors.
“I don’t know what we can do about it,” he said. “Whenever they decide they’re going to do something, they do it, whether the people like it or not.”
Some seniors said they did not like the changes.
Norma Kline, who has used Social Security for 17 years, recalled that in the early 2000s “you could actually go to an office and get on Social Security, which was nice, because they cut through all the red tape.”
She expressed concern about closing in-person offices.
“Somebody who’s just starting the process, you need some help,” she said. “If you call, you have to leave a message, and you never know when you’re going to get a call back.
“Everything the current administration is doing worries me.”
The Record called Social Security Thursday to test response times.
The call was made at 11:36 a.m. An automated voice announced that the hold time was estimated at 120 minutes. An operator picked up 176 minutes later.
Turk expressed faith that Trump would make Social Security more efficient and stick to his promise of funding the program.
“I’m hoping and praying that he keeps his word,” she said.