Social Security Updates from Commissioner Frank Vignano
On Friday, Social Security Commissioner Frank Vignano stated that raising the retirement age has not been part of their discussions with President Donald Trump, emphasizing their commitment to protect the program.
“To be clear, President Trump and I will always protect Social Security; we will not cut it,” Vignano asserted. He mentioned that they have implemented various reforms to address waste, fraud, and abuse within the program in order to secure Social Security for future generations.
He firmly stated, “We are not considering raising the retirement age.”
This commitment came just a day after he spoke with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, who had posed a question regarding the possibility of raising the retirement age. Vignano had responded that all options are being considered amidst looming insolvency concerns.
His comments were relevant given reports that two major Social Security trust funds may run out of funds by 2034, according to Fox News.
Vignano expressed that he does not foresee bankruptcy by 2033 and assured that the administration is collaborating with Congress to enhance and protect Social Security for the long term.
Since the beginning of Trump’s second term in January, the Social Security Agency has taken significant steps forward, as noted by White House officials.
For instance, qualified beneficiaries received an impressive $17 billion earlier than anticipated, just five months ago. One of their key achievements has been decreasing wait times for various services. The average time on the SSA 800 Hotline has dropped from about 30 minutes in 2024 to just five minutes now. Similarly, field office waiting times have seen a 37% reduction, falling to 22 minutes compared to last year.
Moreover, they have integrated Amazon Web Services into field office phone systems, which allows technology to manage about 30% of incoming calls.
Finally, the SSA has effectively increased the number of online users on the My Social Security Portal. As of earlier this month, users totaled 97 million, up from 75 million. The portal has also facilitated around 500 million transactions to date in 2025.
