WASHINGTON – The Social Security Administration has sent a misleading email to beneficiaries saying President Donald Trump’s Sweep Tax Reductions and Expenses Act eliminates taxes on Social Security benefits for most recipients.
“This bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries provide meaningful and immediate relief to older people who have contributed to our country’s economy for the rest of their lives without paying federal income tax on their profits,” said several beneficiaries who share NBC News.
“The new law includes provisions that eliminate federal income taxes on social security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples.”
The same note was posted on the SSA website on the same day, informing several beneficiaries that they received emails to NBC News.
The email came before Trump prepared to sign his massive tax cuts and spending package. He calls the “big beautiful bill” at the White House ceremony on July 4th.
Trump’s domestic policy package sent by Congress to his desk Thursday extends the president’s expired tax cuts that he enacted in 2017, and also creates a temporary tax credit for tips and revenue from overtime.
But that does not rule out federal taxes on social security. Budget settlement, inexplicable process Senate Republicans will not allow social security changes as they were used to pass the bill while avoiding the Democrat filibuster.
However, the Trump package includes a temporary tax credit of up to $6,000 for seniors over the age of 65, and $12,000 for married seniors. Trump’s Economic Advisory Council last month claimed that nearly nine in 10 elderly people would not pay federal taxes on Social Security benefits.
“Under one big beautiful bill, 51.4 million seniors (88% of all seniors who receive Social Security income will not pay taxes on Social Security,” the council wrote.
Trump, who promised to kill taxes on Social Security during his 2024 campaign, has repeatedly made false claims that the law does just that. He made his claims at a rally in Iowa on Thursday night and Friday at bill signing ceremony.
“Once this begins, our country is going to become a rocket ship economically,” Trump said at a White House ceremony.
Representatives from both the White House and the SSA did not respond to requests for comment. Commissioner Frank Vignano, Trump’s top political appointee at the SSA, said in an email that the new tax cuts represent “a historic step for seniors in America.”
“For almost 90 years, Social Security has been the basis of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, the law will reaffirm President Trump’s commitment to protecting Social Security and help seniors enjoy the retirements they have acquired.”
Former SSA officials and Congressional Democrats said they were appalled by what they considered to be a highly political email sent to Americans by federal agencies.
“This email has been sent to all Social Security subscribers, and all of those words are lies. Social Security benefits are still taxed. This big, ugly bill won’t change that,” says New Jersey Rep. Frank Parron, a top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, who said, “It’s bothering me to see Trump hijacking to push for blatant misconceptions.”
Jeff Nesbitt, a former top Social Security official in the Biden administration, said political emails are extremely rare and denounce them as “incredible” and “merciless.”
“I was a deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. I was appointed by President Biden. This agency has never issued such a blatant political statement,” he said, serving in the George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
More than 70 million retirees, survivors and people with disabilities receive Social Security benefits, according to the SSA.
