U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is slamming the Trump administration over plans she says will make it harder for seniors to access the Social Security benefits they have earned.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has already announced plans to cut 7,000 staff. Gillibrand said this comes despite the fact that SSA staffing is already at a 50-year low. New York’s Junior Senator claims the “Department of Government Efficiency” plans to limit phone support for seniors, forcing them to file certain claims online – a challenge for many older adults – or visit a Social Security Administration office in person, even though appointments for these visits can only be made over the phone. She added DOGE is simultaneously planning to shutter Social Security Administration offices across the country, including two in New York. These changes will decimate the Social Security system and deny seniors their hard-earned benefits.
“President Trump and Elon Musk are playing games with your retirement,” said Senator Gillibrand. “They are cutting the phone services that seniors rely on to apply for benefits, firing staff, and closing down the field offices—including the White Plains and Poughkeepsie offices right here in New York—where seniors go for help. These changes mean that you may not get your checks in time to pay your bills and that there may not be anyone at your local Social Security office to turn to for help. This is a cut to benefits in everything but the name, and I will be doing everything in my power to stop it.”
Gillibrand was joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, State Senator Pat Fahy, Acting Director of the NYS Office for the Aging Greg Olsen, and Executive Director of the Association on Aging in New York Rebecca Preve.
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