Particle.news
Download on the App Store

SSA Drops Plan for Sweeping Disability Overhaul

The fate of SSA’s long-planned update to job data remains unclear.

Overview

  • Disability advocate Jason Turkish says White House deputy chief of staff James Blair and SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano told him the rumored regulation will not move forward.
  • Turkish also met with OMB Director Russell Vought, who he says affirmed the same assurance during a West Wing meeting.
  • A White House official told Axios it has not seen any such proposal and said President Trump remains committed to protecting Social Security.
  • The shelved plan reportedly would have replaced decades-old occupational data and changed how age and education are weighed, which experts warned would reduce eligibility, especially for older workers.
  • An Urban Institute estimate suggested that a 10% eligibility reduction could push about 500,000 people off SSDI over 10 years, while SSA’s separate job-data modernization with BLS is likely delayed but not canceled.