Overview

• The SSA appended a correction to its July 3 press release clarifying that the One Big Beautiful Bill offers an enhanced deduction for seniors rather than eliminating taxes on benefits, but it has not reissued the email to beneficiaries.
• Under the new law, taxpayers aged 65 and older can claim a $6,000 deduction for single filers or $12,000 for couples through 2028, with the benefit phasing out at higher income levels.
• Analysts at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimate the deduction will cut trust fund revenues by about $30 billion annually, likely accelerating the projected insolvency of Social Security and Medicare by roughly one year.
• The mass email’s grandiose language and lack of clarity about income limits drew criticism for breaching agency neutrality and sowing confusion among millions of seniors.
• Senate reconciliation rules, including the Byrd Rule, barred direct tax elimination on benefits and forced lawmakers to adopt the temporary senior deduction instead.