Social Security Under Trump: Live Updates to Keep You Up to Date

The Average Monthly Social Security Check: February 2025

Do you enjoy facts and figures? If you do, I have a recurring monthly article about the average Social Security check for retired workers and other beneficiaries, such as spouses, that collect benefits based on the work history of a retiree. In February 2025, the average Social Security monthly check for retired workers was $1,980.86. That's an increase of $2.09 over January's average amount of $1,978.77, according to the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Monthly Statistical Snapshot.

Although the data won’t be available until sometime in May, the average Social Security benefit is likely to get a noticeable bump from the increased benefits due to the Social Security Fairness Act kicking in. The financial impact of the Social Security Fairness Act is set to start with March benefits that are typically paid in April. Eligible public sector retirees and spouses/surviving spouses whose benefits were reduced by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset provisions will see those monthly increases over the next few weeks when their April benefits arrive. The average expected increase in monthly benefits is $360.

For more about average Social Security benefits and retirement account balances, check out these articles:

The Average Social Security Check by Age

The Average Social Security Check for Every State

The Average 401(k) Balance by Age and

The Average IRA Balance by Age.

— Donna LeValley

Updated Information About Field Offices that Have Suspended In-person Services

The SSA issued a press release “Correcting the Record about Social Security Office Closings” to reassure the public that “the agency has not permanently closed or announced the permanent closure of any local field office.” Here at Kiplinger, we never reported that any field offices were permanently closing. We did report on the temporary suspension of in-person services at some field offices. And we will continue to update our article list and tell you where you can’t receive in-person services and where they have been restored.

I updated the list today and there are three new offices that are suspending services and two that have reopen dates. Two out of the seven offices that had previously suspended services were removed from the list. You can check the status of your local field office directly at the SSA web site at the Closures or Delays Affecting In-Person Service page. You can also check our regularly updated list that includes the local addresses and phone numbers of the impacted field offices.

Related: Eight Social Security Field Offices Are Suspending In-Person Services

— Donna LeValley

The SSA Has Rolled Back Some Changes to the Application Process and Extended the Timeline

The SSA is rolling back some of the recently announced identity proofing requirements. First, the deadline to implement the changes has been pushed back to Monday, April 14, a two-week extension from the previous deadline of Monday March 31. The type of new benefit applications impacted by the change have been reduced.

Now, individuals applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can complete their claim entirely over the telephone without the need to come into an office.

The new verification rules will still apply to new applications for Retirement, Survivors, or Auxiliary (Spouse or Child) benefits.

— Donna LeValley

Overpayment Policy Goes Into Effect Today

Starting today, the SSA will require beneficiaries who have been accidentally overpaid to repay 100% of the money, reversing a previous policy that allowed for only 10% recoupment. The10% limit was put in place in early 2024 during the Biden era to help alleviate the financial hardship that some retirees experience when trying to repay the SSA.

Beneficiaries who receive an overpayment after March 27 will have as much as their entire monthly Social Security check withheld until the debt is repaid. However, if a beneficiary cannot afford full recovery of their overpayment, they can contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or their local office to request a lower rate of recovery.

Related: Social Security New Rule: Overpayments Must Be Paid Back 100%. Why It Matters

— Donna LeValley

SSA Announces Plans for Increased Transparency and Accountability

The SSA announced some measures to increase transparency and accountability by sharing more information online. From wait times to releasing recorded operational meetings on the SSA YouTube channel.

Here is where you can find out more about what is going on behind the scene at the SSA:

Weekly Operational Report Meetings: The acting commissioner of the SSA holds weekly meetings. As of March 14, 2025, the WOR meetings are recorded and published to SSA’s YouTube channel. You can find the WOR Playlist at: SSA Weekly Operational Report Meetings

Agency Actions: The SSA now lists select agency challenges, options presented, and Acting Commissioner’s ultimate decisions on the Agency Actions webpage. SSA says it plans to update the page “periodically to include notable matters for which the current Administration is solving.”

Workforce update: There are concerns about customer service and workforce reductions; especially with the move to increase fraud protections by reducing the types of services that beneficiaries can complete over the phone. The SSA has posted its plans to phase-in the reductions and how the reductions will be achieved. That information can be found on the Workforce Update web page.

Accountability

Customer service wait times for phone calls and claims processing: The Social Security Performance web page tells you the current average wait times for common customer services and the agency’s goals for improvement.

Efficiencies and Cost Avoidance: We’ve been keeping track of the consolidation and closure of SSA hearing and field offices and information about their efforts to “streamline costs” will be posted on the Efficiencies and Cost Avoidance webpage.

Related: 47 Local Social Security Offices to Close After DOGE Cuts

Seven Social Security Field Offices Are Suspending In-Person Services

— Donna LeValley

RFF Announces Lay-Off of 10,000 HHS Employees

In one of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first major actions as the new head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the sprawling government agency announced a major shakeup in which it will lay off about 10,000 workers, streamline operations by consolidating 28 divisions within HHS to 15 and create a new division to be called Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA. HHS says the moves will save taxpayers $1.8 billion a year.

The workforce reductions are in addition to the 10,000 staffers that left when President Trump took office and offered voluntary separations. The federal health department's staff will shrink to 62,000 as a result.

As part of the shakeup the Administration for Community Living (ACL), which provides critical programs that support older adults and people with disabilities including the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), ASPE, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will be integrated into other departments at HHS. HHS said it will not impact Medicare and Medicaid services.

“We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy, Jr. said when announcing the reorganization. “This Department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”

Here’s how the workforce reductions will shakeout:

• FDA will decrease its workforce by approximately 3,500 full-time employees
• The CDC will decrease its workforce by approximately 2,400 employees
• The NIH will decrease its workforce by approximately 1,200 employees
• The NIH will decrease its workforce by approximately 1,200 employees
• CMS will decrease its workforce by approximately 300 employees

Related Content: How RFK Jr. May Change Medicare and Your Retirement

— Donna Fuscaldo

Trump Nominee for Commissioner of Social Security was Pressed by Democrat Senators on DOGE and the Future of Social Security

Frank Bisignano, President Trump’s nominee to head the Social Security Administration (SSA), testified on Tuesday at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee. Currently the CEO of the payments company Fiserv, he said in his opening statement: “I am committed to reducing wait times and providing beneficiaries with a better experience” by using his professional expertise in that role. Bisignano said Finserv “processes more than 250 million payments totaling more than $2 and a half trillion dollars a day. We processed 74 million payments a month totaling $1.5 trillion a year.” By comparison, the SSA sent out 73.2 million payments this past February.

Bisignano was questioned on a range of topics. He was asked about his stance on privatizing Social Security (by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.), to which he said: "I've never thought about privatizing. It's not a word anybody's ever talked to me about. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. asked “whether he will make sure the staffing at the Social Security Administration is sufficient to ensure beneficiaries can effectively use the services,” to which he said: “I will commit to having the right staff to get the job done.”

So far, Robert F. Kennedy has been confirmed as HHS secretary. Dr. Mehmet Oz, nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, had his committee hearing on March 25, and is awaiting a full vote before the senate. And Daniel Aronowitz was nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the agency that oversees employee benefit plans and ERISA enforcement. His hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is pending.

— Donna LeValley

The Last March Social Security Payment Goes Out Today

The day you get a check or direct deposit is always a good day. Today, the last batch of March Social Security payments is going out to beneficiaries whose birthdates are from the 21st through the 31st, who will receive their payments. Make sure to check the 2025 payment schedule to see when the April payments are set to arrive. Some beneficiaries will be getting a bump in their next installment.

Next month, eligible retired public sector employees will receive their increased benefits reflecting the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that was retroactively applied to benefits starting in 2024.

— Donna LeValley