Did you receive an email from the Social Security Administration on the day the House passed the final version of the Big Bad Bill, Backed by Billionaires? My wife and I did, as did many of my friends. Here is the text of that email:
Social Security Administration
Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.
The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy.
“This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. “For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they’ve earned."
The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples. Additionally, it provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned.
Social Security remains committed to providing timely, accurate information to the public and will continue working closely with federal partners to ensure beneficiaries understand how this legislation may affect them.
Immediately after I read the email, my BS detector went off. I went onto Gemini AI to share and have it analyze the email for misinformation. Sure enough, it’s politicized spin. 60 Minutes should do a story about this deception, but their parent company just paid Trump $16 million to settle a BS lawsuit about the Kamala Harris interview in order to get a merger approved, so forget them holding Trump to account.
Here is Gemini AI’s response to my question on the email’s politicization:
You've hit on a critical point of political rhetoric and how tax legislation can be presented! Based on all the information available and corroborated by multiple independent analyses, the email from the Social Security Administration is highly misleading, though it uses language that can be technically twisted to appear true.
Here's why, breaking down the specific claims:
Claim 1: "The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits..."
* Misleading/Half-Truth: This statement is designed to give the impression that the bill eliminates the tax on Social Security benefits for 90% of beneficiaries. It does not.
* The Reality: The bill introduces a new, temporary additional deduction for seniors ($6,000 per person). For many lower and middle-income seniors, this additional deduction will lower their overall taxable income. Because the taxability of Social Security benefits is tied to "combined income" (which includes your AGI), reducing your AGI through this new deduction can, in turn, reduce or eliminate the taxable portion of your Social Security benefits.
* The Nuance:
* The underlying tax rules for Social Security benefits are unchanged. The thresholds at which 50% or 85% of benefits become taxable based on "combined income" are still in place.
* Many beneficiaries already pay no tax on Social Security benefits. A significant portion of beneficiaries (around 60%) already have "combined income" below the thresholds where Social Security benefits become taxable. For these individuals, the bill doesn't change anything regarding their Social Security taxability because they weren't paying it anyway.
* The claim of 90% is likely based on an indirect effect: The White House Council of Economic Advisers has released analyses projecting that, due to the increased deductions, 88% or 90% of seniors will pay no tax on their Social Security income. This is because their total deductions (standard deduction + existing age deduction + new senior deduction) will exceed their taxable Social Security income for tax calculation purposes.
* It's a "tax break for seniors" that might result in less Social Security taxation, not an elimination of the Social Security tax itself.
Claim 2: "...providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy."
* Partially True, with caveats: The new deduction will provide tax relief for many seniors, particularly those within the income phase-out ranges who were previously paying some tax on their benefits.
* The Caveat: The new senior deduction is temporary (2025-2028). This means the relief is not permanent. Also, higher-income seniors whose MAGI is above the phase-out thresholds for the new deduction (over $150,000 for joint filers) will not benefit from this specific provision.
Claim 3: "The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries..."
* This is the most egregious and direct misrepresentation. The bill absolutely does NOT contain a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits. This was a campaign promise that did not make it into the final legislation due to budget rules (specifically, reconciliation rules that protect the Social Security trust funds from direct changes).
* As discussed, it's an indirect effect for many, but the core taxability rules remain.
Claim 4: "Additionally, it provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned."
* True: This part is accurate. The bill does provide an enhanced deduction ($6,000 per person) for those 65 and older, which is additional to the regular standard deduction and the existing age-related deduction. This will allow many retirees to keep more of what they've earned by reducing their taxable income.
In summary:
The email is designed to sound like the bill achieved a direct elimination of Social Security taxation, which it did not. It strategically uses the indirect effect of a new, temporary deduction to claim that 90% of beneficiaries will no longer pay tax on their benefits. While the outcome for many will be less or no tax on their Social Security, it's not because the Social Security taxation rules themselves were repealed. The language is crafted to align with a political promise that wasn't fully delivered in the text of the law itself.
It's a classic example of political spin where the outcome for a large group of people (lower tax burden) is presented as if a specific, more politically popular action (eliminating the tax on Social Security) was taken, even when it wasn't.
Holy Moly! IMO, the email perfectly shows how we are morphing into a totalitarian, fascist country. This probably won’t reach national news headlines, and most SS recipients will believe it, as my wife did at first when she read her email. I had to explain to her what this was. BTW, AI is so useful for things like this.
