DOGE Is Supposed to Clean Up Social Security. Will It Also Cut Benefits?

Just as people tend to do their fair share of needless spending, so does the federal government. But that wastes taxpayers’ dollars and puts pressure on key programs that are essential to many people.

It’s for this reason that President Trump established DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency. The purpose of DOGE is to identify wasteful federal spending and reduce it in a variety of ways.

One of the programs DOGE will be looking at closely is Social Security. Social Security pays benefits to millions of Americans, and, like any government program, there are inefficiencies that need to be addressed.

But will DOGE’s involvement result in Social Security cuts? Here’s what we know.

A cleanup is in order

Social Security is a program millions of Americans count on. But the program is also facing a pending financial shortfall.

Social Security gets most of its revenue from payroll taxes. But with a shrinking workforce, the program will be denied much of the revenue it needs to keep up with scheduled benefits. And sweeping cuts are possible once Social Security’s trust funds run out of money, which could happen in as little as a decade’s time.

Given that situation, Social Security cannot afford to lose any money. But a report by its Inspector General recently found that between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, the program made nearly $72 billion improper payments.

Now in reality, those erroneous payments represent only a small percentage of the total benefits Social Security paid out during that time.

But it’s still a frustrating thing to see Social Security waste money on improper payments at a time when benefits cuts are possible due to a funding shortfall. So the hope is that DOGE will set its sights on Social Security and take steps to avoid a repeat scenario.

And chances are, there’s other wasteful Social Security spending DOGE can address once it digs deeper. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though.

DOGE is unlikely to cut Social Security

DOGE’s involvement in Social Security ties into eliminating wasteful spending. But DOGE’s aim isn’t to cut benefits, and that’s not what the department has been asked to do. If anything, DOGE has been tasked with identifying wasteful spending so that more money can be allocated to benefit payments.

Furthermore, Trump, who put DOGE in place, has pledged not to cut so much as a dollar from Social Security. Of course, that was something he emphasized a lot during his presidential campaign, and we’ll need to see how well that sentiment holds up now that he’s in office.

But Trump is unlikely to reverse course. It would just be too hypocritical. And also, it doesn’t fit into his playbook.

Trump has been on a mission to eliminate taxes on Social Security so seniors get to keep more of their benefits. It makes no sense for someone to fight to put more money in retirees’ pockets only to then go after benefits themselves.

So all told, there’s no reason to think that DOGE getting involved in Social Security will lead to benefit cuts. Those cuts might end up happening, but for a very different reason.

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