How Musk’s access to Treasury system may impact Social Security

News that Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk now has access to a government payment system that is responsible for $6 trillion in annual federal payments — including Social Security and Medicare benefits — has prompted criticism from Democratic lawmakers and advocates.

Yet in a new letter to Congress, the Treasury Department said the new development has not caused those benefit payments to be “delayed or re-routed.”

Last week, it was reported Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted access to the federal payment system to DOGE, an office within the President’s executive office. DOGE has been tasked with finding ways to reduce federal spending and increase government efficiency.

Democratic lawmakers and advocacy organizations have raised their concerns about what that could mean for the continuity of federal payments and access to Americans’ confidential information.

“Millions of Americans rely on these systems for Social Security checks, Medicare benefits, federal salaries, grants and tax refunds,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, posted on X on Monday, calling the move “extraordinarily dangerous.”

Social Security beneficiaries “have every reason to be alarmed,” according to a statement from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

“It all depends on what they [at DOGE] think is efficient and what isn’t efficient,” said Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the National Committee.

“These programs are the lifelines of millions of people and seniors with disabilities throughout the country,” he said.

Under Musk, the government may have the ability to stop Social Security Disability Insurance payments, as well as other benefits such as Medicaid or Meals on Wheels, according to the National Committee.

Payments on federal contracts and foreign aid may also be affected, according to Lindsay Owens, executive director at Groundwork Collaborative.

The idea that a private citizen — unelected and unconfirmed by the Senate — was in possession of the Treasury payment system and had access to Americans’ personal financial and identifying information is “a five-alarm fire for us,” Owens said.

However, a White House official, who spoke on background, said many of the perceptions of what the change could mean are unfounded.

“All DOGE is looking to do is restructure the payment system to reflect the President’s goals and his mission, especially regarding the executive orders,” the White House Official said.

“Any payments going for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, those are not at odds with the president’s executive order,” the official said. “Any assertion otherwise is just a lie.”

Moreover, any access to personal financial information will be limited to government employees who have proper security clearance to do so, the official said.

In a Tuesday letter to members of Congress, a Treasury Department official said the current review of the Fiscal Service that operates federal government payment systems “has not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed.”

Further, Treasury staff members working with Treasury employee Tom Krause “will have read-only access to the coded data of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems in order to continue this operational efficiency assessment,” the official wrote. Krause, CEO of Cloud Software Group, had been working with DOGE and has been hired by the Treasury Department.

The Trump administration has offered federal employees buyouts, whereby they may resign and get paid through September. Federal workers have until Feb. 6 to accept the resignation offers.

The policy may negatively impact the Social Security Administration, which already faces 25-year staffing lows, a group of Democratic senators said last week in a letter to the Office of Personnel Management.

“Trump’s buyout offer would have devastating consequences for the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Social Security,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, said in a statement.

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The Social Security Administration has “historically struggled to provide essential services in a timely manner,” the Senators wrote in their letter. In 2024, the Social Security’s average phone wait time for service was 45 minutes. In 2023, the average wait time for determinations for disability benefits was 230 days.

All federal agencies have funding through a continuing resolution through March 14. After that, it’s up to Congress, according to Adcock.

The Social Security Administration has said it will take time to implement a new law, the Social Security Fairness Act, that will provide more than 3 million Americans who also receive public pensions with increased monthly benefit checks, as well as lump sum back payments.

“Though SSA is helping some affected beneficiaries now, under SSA’s current budget, SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits,” the agency states on its website.