Social Security as a Propaganda tool

[Anonymous]

Let me ask a stupid question (am not yet a Social Security recipient.)

If you get, say, $2,500 a month from S.S., is it taxed?

For example, if your paycheck at a job were $2,500, you'd expect to "net" about $1,850-ish, i.e., $2,500 in pay with about a quarter ($650-ish) lost in taxes. So you only end up with $1,850.

Is that how Social Security works, or do you get the whole $2,500?

Thanks for any info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me ask a stupid question (am not yet a Social Security recipient.)

If you get, say, $2,500 a month from S.S., is it taxed?

For example, if your paycheck at a job were $2,500, you'd expect to "net" about $1,850-ish, i.e., $2,500 in pay with about a quarter ($650-ish) lost in taxes. So you only end up with $1,850.

Is that how Social Security works, or do you get the whole $2,500?

Thanks for any info.

Some of it, under some circumstances: https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-02471.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

the reality

https://www.investopedia.com/eliminating-soci...enior-bonus-11743513

President Donald Trump has promised to eliminate taxes that beneficiaries pay on their Social Security checks.

The Big Beautiful Bill does not eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, but it does give a temporary tax break to those 65 and older with a modified adjusted gross income of up to $75,000—what some are calling a "senior bonus."

Eliminating income taxes on Social Security benefits would drain the trust funds that back the program faster than already projected.

+1 I will believe the Social Security "no tax" when they stop taking taxes out of my SS check. They would lose a LOT of money if they did this.

Well, by default, the SSA does not withhold taxes from your check. If they are withholding taxes, it is because you have filed a request for them to do so. I am assuming that in order to change that, you will need to file a new form. When this law goes into effect, there are still some people who will be paying taxes on their benefits. The SSA does not know who those people are, so you will need to inform them.
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How can I have income taxes withheld from my Social Security benefits?
June 30, 2025 · En español · Share

If you receive Social Security benefits, you can ask us to withhold funds from your benefits, and we will credit them toward your federal taxes. You can sign in to or create a personal my Social Security account to check, start, change, or stop your Voluntary Tax Withholding (VTW) request rate online. This VTW self-help option will help you to have federal taxes withheld timely, reducing the potential of owing federal taxes at the end of the tax year.

See Withholding Income Tax From Your Social Security Benefits for more information.

https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-02477.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me ask a stupid question (am not yet a Social Security recipient.)

If you get, say, $2,500 a month from S.S., is it taxed?

For example, if your paycheck at a job were $2,500, you'd expect to "net" about $1,850-ish, i.e., $2,500 in pay with about a quarter ($650-ish) lost in taxes. So you only end up with $1,850.

Is that how Social Security works, or do you get the whole $2,500?

Thanks for any info.

By default, the SSA does NOT withhold taxes on benefits. In order to have the SSA withhold money for taxes, you need to file a form requesting them to do so. Otherwise, you get the full check. That does NOT mean that you won't owe taxes on that money. The amount of tax you owe naturally depends on the amount of income you receive - including your SS benefits.

[Anonymous]

I got this garbage too. I’m in Europe and we laughed at how bad this email is. My American friends who live abroad are just appalled at the state of the U.S. It’s turning into a horrible Hunger Games existence. Dog eat dog. No safety net at all.

[Anonymous]

It was double taxation to tax Social Security and no system should ever have been allowed to tax SS benefits.

[Anonymous]

The senior bonus ends after 2028.
If you have income and collect Social Security, the bonus fades to zero at $150k AGI for a single filer.
So we get nada.

[Anonymous]

News coverage of Trump gang's illegal, fraudulent email spam:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/social-security-administration-sends-misleading-email-lauding-trumps-n-rcna216990

[Anonymous]

An explainer from the NY Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/your-money/social-security-tax.html

The BUB adds an additional $6,000/person deduction for tax filers 66+, phasing out beginning at $75,000/single filer ($150,000 per couple).

Note that most Social Security recipients barely owe income tax as it is: "Under current law, an estimated 64 percent of beneficiaries did not owe taxes on their Social Security benefit." The new deduction expands the group of non-owers to about 88%.

The new elder deduction only lasts til 2028, and, as usual, benefits middle-class baby boomers at the expense of Gen X, for whom Social Security will now run dry a year earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An explainer from the NY Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/your-money/social-security-tax.html

The BUB adds an additional $6,000/person deduction for tax filers 66+, phasing out beginning at $75,000/single filer ($150,000 per couple).

Note that most Social Security recipients barely owe income tax as it is: "Under current law, an estimated 64 percent of beneficiaries did not owe taxes on their Social Security benefit." The new deduction expands the group of non-owers to about 88%.

The new elder deduction only lasts til 2028, and, as usual, benefits middle-class baby boomers at the expense of Gen X, for whom Social Security will now run dry a year earlier.

It technically benefits Trump with the cynical "it lasts until I'm out of office" nonsense. This bill was done for the vanity of the orange moron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ran the purported email through Grok, asking whether its claims were true, and this was the response:

*Claim: The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.

Verdict: Misleading. The bill does not directly eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits but provides a deduction that may result in no taxes on benefits for many seniors, particularly those with moderate incomes. The "90%" figure depends on specific income scenarios and existing deductions, not a blanket tax elimination.

*Claim: The bill provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older.

Verdict: True. The bill does provide an enhanced deduction for seniors, as described.

*Claim: The legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security.

Verdict: Partially true but misleading. The bill provides tax relief for seniors, but it does not fully deliver on the promise to eliminate Social Security taxes, and it may have negative implications for the Social Security trust fund.

Fiscal Impact: The OBBB is projected to increase federal deficits by $3.3–$4 trillion over 10 years, and the senior deduction, while less costly than eliminating Social Security taxes ($200 billion vs. $1.4–$1.5 trillion over 10 years), contributes to this.

The bolded cannot possibly be true. We have been told repeatedly that this bill only helps the wealthy.

It helps the wealthy significantly. It helps others minimally, and not sufficiently enough to offset all the economic harm of all of Trumps other policies.

+1 The vast majority of social security recipients don’t make enough money to pay federal taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ran the purported email through Grok, asking whether its claims were true, and this was the response:

*Claim: The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.

Verdict: Misleading. The bill does not directly eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits but provides a deduction that may result in no taxes on benefits for many seniors, particularly those with moderate incomes. The "90%" figure depends on specific income scenarios and existing deductions, not a blanket tax elimination.

*Claim: The bill provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older.

Verdict: True. The bill does provide an enhanced deduction for seniors, as described.

*Claim: The legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security.

Verdict: Partially true but misleading. The bill provides tax relief for seniors, but it does not fully deliver on the promise to eliminate Social Security taxes, and it may have negative implications for the Social Security trust fund.

Fiscal Impact: The OBBB is projected to increase federal deficits by $3.3–$4 trillion over 10 years, and the senior deduction, while less costly than eliminating Social Security taxes ($200 billion vs. $1.4–$1.5 trillion over 10 years), contributes to this.

The bolded cannot possibly be true. We have been told repeatedly that this bill only helps the wealthy.

It helps the wealthy significantly. It helps others minimally, and not sufficiently enough to offset all the economic harm of all of Trumps other policies.

+1 The vast majority of social security recipients don’t make enough money to pay federal taxes.

Wealthy Americans are Americans too, but the way the leftists here talk, you'd think they were enemy soldiers that need to be defeated.

Any tax cuts will help the wealthy because they pay almost all of the taxes. The middle and working class have already had their taxes cut to almost nothing. What more do you want? Socialism?