March 31, 2025 • 39 mins
The Trump Administration’s plan to slash roughly 12% of the Social Security Administration staff raise concerns about how the cuts could hurt customer service and access to benefits. Will Social Security be around when you retire?
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm w BZY Boston's Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, thanks very much, Dan Watkins. As we move
into our first talk hour of the week, we had
a guest scheduled for tonight. Who's going to join us
tomorrow night. I'm a little disappointed, but suffice it to
say there were some travel issues, and tomorrow night, I
(00:29):
think all of you will be really enjoy my guest,
Boston Attorney James Roosevelt. Jim Roosevelt, who I've known for
a long time. He is a lifelong Democrat, the grandson
of the late great President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who actually
signed the Social Security Act into law back in nineteen
(00:51):
thirty five at the height of the Great Depression. Also,
Jim Roosevelt has served as an Associate Commissioner of the
Social Security Administration during the Clinton administration in the nineteen nineties.
And we'll see what his perspective on this is. There
(01:12):
was a great piece today, I thought in the Boston Globe,
and I think you know all of you know that
there are days in the Globe when I'm not as
thrilled with it as normal. But Sean Murphy wrote, I
thought a really great piece today on the Business Section,
front page of the Business Section, which is the D section,
(01:36):
digging into social security, and Sean dealt with some of
the concerns that people have with sole security and a
lot of it is really interesting to me. And I
just want to hit a couple of the highlights from
Seawan's article, and I'd like to invite a conversation. Know
(02:00):
that there's a lot of people who are trying to
raise this as a political issue. I don't see it
as a political issue, nor should it be a political issue.
I don't know what success Elon Musk and his band
(02:20):
of merry people will have. I do know that Musk
was at an event yesterday in Wisconsin. There's a fairly
heated political race going on in Wisconsin, and Elon Musk
made some comments, and we have some of those comments
(02:41):
which which we're more than happy to share with you
to get the conversation going. We also have some some
other articles which which again we can we can get to.
So for example, Musk yesterday, we're I here, yeah, let
me this was Elon Musk yesterday talking about well this
(03:09):
is this is Musk cut number twenty two and before
before we go to that. Let me let me just
say this Social Security I have a view of it.
Some people call it an entitlement program. I think it's
an entitlement program at one level. But it's also a
contract between people like me and you. I'm taking SO
(03:32):
Security benefits, uh, because they spent my entire life contributing
to Social Security and through SO Security to medicure and
all of that has accounted for, you know, tens of thousands,
if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you look
at your paychecks, h or if you look at your
(03:56):
your your W two's, or if you keep your W
twos from you years past. Uh, if you are on
Social Security, that's a contract. Uh. It's not a contract
like signed by a baseball player or a movie star.
It's a contract or that the union head signs on
behalf of a union. It's a contract that exists between you,
(04:18):
an employee who has paid your taxes and has contributed
to this SO security system. And the contract essentially says this, look,
you contribute during your working life. Now there are others
who will benefit from it, and Sean Murphy, you know,
certainly talks about those today. You know, individuals who find
(04:39):
themselves being disabled, they can benefit from social security. Children
of people who have passed away early, they can contribute.
They can benefit from social security. But when you think
of people with you know, people with disabilities, et cetera.
So we can we get all of that, okay u.
(05:00):
But the backbone of social security is the money that
working Americans had paid. Now, when so security first started
in nineteen thirty five and people were eligible in nineteen
thirty five to retire it, I assume it was the
age of sixty five. There weren't a lot of people
making into the age of sixty five. Life expectancies were
(05:23):
a lot shorter than in this country. But those who
did make it were able to take get a SOB
security check. It wasn't a big check, but it was something,
particularly in the midst of the Great Depression that eventually,
I think historians would argue, and maybe I would argue,
(05:46):
was the Depression was ended sadly by the onset of
World War I two. But that story for another day.
So those of us who baby boomers who are now
coming into the security system, we've paid in a long
long time. You have to pay in for the equivalent
of ten years four quarters. Okay, I think everybody knows that. Now,
(06:10):
if you're somebody who is in a different category and
you have disabilities, yeah you're gonna be You're gonna be
taken care of by SO Security. Again, you're not going
to become a millionaire. I don't think there's anyone who
thinks that. But at least you won't be out on
the street, you know, in lines looking looking for apples.
(06:32):
So I view it as a contract, and if you've
paid into it, yeah, you your benefits should not and
will not be cut. This is what Elon Musk said yesterday.
Cut number twenty two, Please rob cut number twenty two.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I guess it'll be helpful because so I just stated
as crisply and clearly as possible that those will well
absolutely ensure that people get their Social Security, make sure
they get the Social Security, make sure they get the Medicaid,
and will not be cutting any legitimate payments whatsoever.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Crystal Claire, Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Mean, look, SO Security third rail of American politics. Whenever
a politician has said that he or she wants to
cut Social Security, they lose a lot of very reliable
and dependent and dependable voters. Okay, do I think that
they may raise, as they have in the past, raise
(07:36):
through time and age for so security by a couple
of months. Yeah, yeah, they could happen. Do I think
that there could be some other things that are done
around the margins? Maybe? Maybe, But I just think that
to whip people into a frenzy on this is unfair.
(07:58):
Now there will be again if you haven't had a
chance to look at the column written by Sean Murphy,
who does a great job. He talks about there will
be an effort to make people get an identification verification process. Unfortunately,
(08:25):
that's if we want to keep the system solvent. I
think we got to go through that, and there has
to be a way in which organizations and communities can
help citizens who do not have access to the internet
to do that. In the column today he talks about that,
(08:46):
talks about a number of things. I just want to
open up the conversation if you have a concern or whatever.
I think Sean Murphy has laid it out and I
want to give him every credit for having done this,
because we're going to quote from his column and tomorrow
we'll have Jim Roosevelt with us at nine o'clock. But
in the meantime, it's me in you six one, seven, two, five,
(09:10):
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
Raise a question. I'll try to give you a straight answer.
If I can't give you a straight answer, I'll tell
you I don't know the answer and we'll be able
to pick it up tomorrow Night with Jim Roosevelt. Social Security. Look,
let's not freak people out. People who are on SO
security and who are depending upon SO security. We're all
(09:31):
dealing with increased prices, and we have been dealing with
increased prices for a couple of years now dramatically. Okay,
So let's let's try to calm some people down. And
if you want to join the conversation, your SO security
check next month will arrive in April, it will arrive
in May, It'll arrive in June, July, August, and September,
(09:54):
and there won't be reductions, and there will be a
col increase, a cost of living adjustment next next October.
Will there be some economies affected, Yes, some offices closed, yes,
some employees laid off. Yes, join the conversation. My name
is Dan Ray and this is Nights. I'd love to
have you join us.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So we're talking about social security and I'd like to
talk about it in a rational way in which people
are not And again I highly recommend reading Sean Murphy's
piece in the Boston Globe today. I thought it was
very clear you're going to have to probably at some point,
(10:41):
if you're going to become a new soci security recipient,
your identification is going to have to be verified. Now again,
they have made some exceptions for people pop who are
(11:01):
elderly or are disabled. They still be able. It says
some current recipients may be able to do so without
verifying their identity by using their banks automatic enrollment service.
When this identification verified, identity verification required. According to Sean Murphy,
(11:25):
when you first apply for your benefit, you must verify
your identity. That's not new, and of course makes perfect sense.
If you're a current recipient, you may have to verify
your identity if you change your direct deposit banking information.
Some current recipients, however, may be able to do so
without verifying their identity by using their banks automatic enrollment service.
So again, all of this, I think all of this
(11:48):
is going to be Okay. The goal here is to
eliminate people who might be receiving Social Security benefits inappropriately.
If feel like join a conversation, feel free six point
seven two five thirty or six one seven thirty, then
we go first to fill in Boston. Fill you at
first this hour on nights side. Welcome.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
I don't dan. I'm surprised social Security is lostes this long.
I mean, but then maybe it's moument. And you mentioned
court the age. The age goes up months at a time.
And I'm probably wrong in this situation, but I understand
you pay social Security if you work forty, if stay
(12:31):
fifty forty sixty grand a year or whatever. But if
it may have over one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars,
they don't take any more social Security audio only. That
doesn't make sense. Why don't we raise that amount of
you know, try that if you wake one hundred seventy
five thousand dollars a year, you pay those security taxes
(12:51):
on the one five to the one seventy five.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah. Well, well that's something that Congress could certainly do,
and what Congress has done in the past. Social Security
for many many years was capped at a certain level,
and then as inflation kind of came along. In the
nineteen eighties, they there was a big so Security Reform
Act with Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neil, and one of
(13:16):
the things is they did raise the cap a little bit,
so security recipients now are paying Medicare tax. There comes
a point in time where the tax has become unreasonable.
So security has been funded. It's gonna it's it's solvent.
I believe through at this point twenty thirty four, they
(13:40):
you know, they have enough money. And sometimes what you
have to do is look at it and say, they're
never going to raise the retirement aged at like seventy
five or eighty. So don't worry about that, Okay, I
think right now, and I could be wrong. I see
them to be correct that I don't have it in
front of me. I think it's like sixty seven or
sixty six and ten months or something thing like that.
(14:01):
But Americans are living longer, so that's one thing you
can you could raise. You could say, anybody that makes
more than a million dollars a year, let's take all
of their excess money and and and and can make
make it contributed to social security. I don't think that
Congress has the stomach for that, and I don't think
(14:22):
the American people do either.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
How many people may go over one hundred twenty year,
I mean a lot.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
There are a lot of people. Well, let me ask
you this. Think about it. Do you ever watch a
sporting event on television like a basketball, hockey, football, or
a baseball game, every one of those individuals making more
than a half a million. I think the major league
minimum now is somewhere around six hundred thousand dollars, and
that's the lowest minimum in the country. So you can
(14:53):
take all the pro athletes, I mean, but you can't
do that. You can't say we're going to tax all
the pro athletes everything in excess.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
I'm not.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
You know, you'll you'll be Okay, how old do you feel.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
For this way? I was. I was in Latin school
and yet the time you were going there.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Okay, are you retired?
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Are you getting so security?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:20):
What do you mean?
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
You either you are? You are? Did you work? Did
you to get Social Security as a retirement? You have
to work what they call ten quarters? It worked forty quarters?
Excuse me, basically contribute for ten years. I assume you did.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
That right, Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yeah, okay, And did you did you get an increase
in your SO security a couple of years ago when
inflation was running in about nine percent?
Speaker 5 (15:45):
I work a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, you've got a big increase. You get it. You
get a nine percent increase, whether you know it or not.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
Yeah, yeah, you know. So.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
I mean, it's okay, You've got to be okay. I
just I think a lot of people are worrying about this,
you know, I do you do you think there's any
fraud in social security?
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Oh, I don't want to see quarter on the I
mean yeah, I would think those fraud and everything else. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
So if they can find some fraud and get rid
of it, you know, I want to see the proof.
Don't get me wrong, but I think that Hey, let's
see what happens. I am not worried about them taking
my SO security check away, and you shouldn't either, though.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Okay, No, First of all, did thank you for talking
to me. I'll let you go one lo comment you
said it wouldn't it be? Just man, I don't want
to confuse the issue. If you make one hundred and
twenty five thousand dollars, Yeah, there's a cutoff perviot here. Well,
you can make a hound. They don't touch one of those.
Every said they don't tach within in a month. But
(16:54):
shouldn't that be kind of I don't even a congos,
and I don't want to keep feeding myself, but shouldn't
that be kind of a little I have one thing
between the age and you know, I.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Guess they'll they'll raise that up a little bit. That's
going to get raised up. But if you're making one
hundred and twenty five thousand dollars and all of a
sudden you make one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, you
know your federal taxes are going to probably whack you
for about a third of the difference. So you probably
go from one twenty five to one fifty. I'll bet
you that's an increase of eight thousand in federal taxes.
(17:23):
So now you get back another couple of thousand dollars
dollars on for sold security. I mean, making one hundred
and twenty five thousand dollars or one hundred fifty thousand dollars,
you're not going to become a millionaire.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
Fill I mean on that side, I unfortunately I understand
that I finally got it out right. Thanks for that,
I guess style audios.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Thanks, touch to you later, good night, take a quick break,
I'm not I don't want to short change Rick and Dover.
He's up next. And then I got Joe and Lynn.
I got some room for you both at six one, seven, two, five,
four to ten thirty and at six one, seven, nine
three one ten thirty. The purpose tonight is to basically
calm people down. I mean, I could be a lot more.
(18:04):
I guess scary uh and tell you well, you never know.
They might elimitate No, no, they're not going to eliminate
Social Security. I don't think that any benefits that people
are receiving now legitimately are going to be taken away
from them. And I hope that if there are new
people who are going to have to get a certified
(18:27):
new people signing up certified federal account, that it's done
in such a way that it's relatively easy. And look,
every politician, if they're smart, no, none of them, most
of them really aren't. But every politician could could volunteer
to set up Saturday sessions at public libraries in their
(18:48):
districts in which they would have people there to help
people who need that help in lieu of social Security offices.
We'll see this is this is there are there are
options here joined the conversation back right after the news
at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
It's nice with Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
All right, let's get back to the call. It's going
to go to a Rick in Dover. Rick, welcome back.
How are you sir?
Speaker 6 (19:16):
Hey? How you doing?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Dah doing great? What's what you're taking all of this? Rick?
Speaker 6 (19:21):
I gotta say, this is the first time I enjoyed
your opening and the comment of a first call. You're
a spot on as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Well, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
It was great hearing it.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I wish I wish that that was not that there
have been other times, but that's okay. I just uh,
I think we're putting people into a bit of a panic.
And did you reach n Murphy's piece in the Globe
today by any chance or no? Now?
Speaker 6 (19:49):
But I'm on Social Security and I got to go
in and I prove I'm alive in the next couple
of days.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Well, let me ask how long have you been on
Social Security?
Speaker 7 (19:59):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (19:59):
Probably five years?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Five years and you never got you never got your
identification verified.
Speaker 6 (20:08):
I had to go in like one or two times.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, but now.
Speaker 6 (20:13):
All of a sudden, it's a new thing. And I
called them because I read the White House, you know,
press release and stuff. And first it says that you
don't have to come in if you're already getting it.
Da da da da da, unless it's a regular schedule review.
They do those like every two years. But then at
the bottom it said, oh, yeah, but you've really got
(20:34):
to prove your live though. So I called him and
you know, question him. And first the person that answered said, oh,
you don't have to come in. You know you're you're good.
And then I said, well, why is it say this
down on the press release, and then she went and
talked to the supervisor. I guess it made me an appointment.
So I'm going in the next couple of days to
prove them alive and breathing and who I am. And
(20:57):
of course from firstus here to get every form idea.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, I'll tell you I was able several years ago,
and I'm not the smartest guy. On terms of the computer,
I was able to essentially upload a driver's license or
I forget if it was a birth certificate from my
phone or from my computer. I guess it was UH.
(21:24):
And I also took a picture of myself and I
have a SOB security number. I've never had to go
through this. I did it electronically about four or five
years ago. I'm surprised that that you didn't do it
back then. Let me ask you this, do you have
a SOB security account? Like can you go on to
you know, so security dot gov?
Speaker 6 (21:44):
And I tried that every time it wouldn't let me
do it. But I mean I got to check every month,
no no review.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah, but there's let me see if I can help
you out here for a seconds, just for for for
for second here, Okay, I'm not the smartest guy in
terms of so in terms of computers. I want you
to know that I I don't get the lingo or
anything like that. I'm probably something either. Yeah, I mean, so,
(22:16):
so I go to uh an item here a website
which is s s a dot gov slash my account.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Right?
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Have you have you tried that that website or not?
Speaker 6 (22:31):
I tried. I tried it and then they said, oh
I got a duplicate or count or something, so it
wouldn't let me log in, because supposedly when I try
to log in once, it wouldn't let me do it,
and now won't let me do it at all. I'm
gonna try to fix it in the next couple of days.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Okay, so let me tell you again, if you if
you well, if you write this down, it might help
you a little bit. I don't know what what office
are you going to? Are you living Dover? So how
far do you have to go?
Speaker 6 (22:58):
I'm only going to Portsmouth, so it's not a big deal.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Okay. So so you know you're in You're in Dover,
New Hampshire, right, Okay, I thought you were in Dover, Massachusetts. Okay,
so it isn't a big deal.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
So if you go s s a dot gov, slash
my account. Okay, there's a sign in button. So I
clicked the signing button, uh, and it says I can
sign in with log in dot gov or I can
sign in with I d dot me or signing with
(23:29):
my SoC security user game okay, user name. So I
I go to.
Speaker 6 (23:40):
I'm trying it.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Okay, Well when I go to all right, now I
get it. I go to secure dot log in dot gov.
Here's my email address, and my password is right there.
It says show password. I know what my password is,
so they they've kept my password and I submit it
and all of a sudden, they want to send me
(24:02):
a one time code. Okay, and my phone is across
the room here.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Uh so hold on, Rick, I don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I know I'm going to help you out. Man. I'm
going to help you out. I want to.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
I'm gonna have them do that because I'm going over there.
Speaker 8 (24:26):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
So I went, I grabbed my phone, which I was charging.
You're still there, Rick, yeah, good, Okay, So I got
a log in number here. I'm not going to tell
you what the log in number is, but I'm going
to put it in. It's a six six number code.
Boom boom boom boom boom. Okay, I got my code.
(24:50):
Here we go, okyeah, yep, uh huh okay. Do not
use spaces or capital letters. Okay. Okay, so that.
Speaker 6 (25:03):
Any is in capital and.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Oh my god, oh yeah, this is.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Why they did that. I don't know. Okay, well you
might be right. So now I okay, now my one
time code, here's another one.
Speaker 8 (25:17):
Here we go, uh.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, point no, no, no, I'm proving you point. Here
we go.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
Oh my god, go ahead, I'm in.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I agree to terms of service. Just a little check.
I agree. Next, Here we go next, and I'm looking. Welcome, Daniel.
You last signed in on January seventh, at twelve twenty
five pm Eastern time. I got my benefits summary, I
got my SO security payment here. I'm not on Medicare
(25:56):
because I have my wife's coverage and I'm enrolled in
medica here. You got to enroll in Medicare when you
turn seventy, right, believe me on that. And then if
i'd like, I can get my Social Security statement, which
is going to tell me that I can look at
everything that I have contributed to my SO security you know,
(26:19):
how forever, how long I've worked. Okay, Yeah, so here's that.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Which one? Which one? Are they talking about cutting Medicare
or Medicaid.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
There's no cut on Medicare. Musk just said that. And again,
now you know, if you want to assume that the
guy is a uh, you know, total liar, Okay, and
again I'm looking at.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
A scheme last week.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
But.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Uh, he has said that in the past, Okay, and
what what I believe he meant by that? Was if
you pay you to so security Rick for your entire life,
and you die at sixty five before you've taken so security,
you know you're you don't get the door because you're dead. No,
(27:16):
look right, you know so so to some extent there
Now conversely, there was one year, you know, when George
Steinberner died when there was no estate tax. So Steinberner's
estate was not taxed. So there are those sort of anomalies.
But anyway, look, I wish you're best of luck. Do
me a favor. Let me know how you make out tomorrow. Okay,
(27:38):
I thanks Dan, thank you, thank you very much, my friend.
We'll talk to you later.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
Good night, bye bye, good night.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I'm just here to try to help, that's all. Let
me go next to Joe. Joe joins us from Lynn Joe.
Next time, Dan, Joe.
Speaker 8 (27:50):
It's crazy. Yeah, I get so security. I worked a
little bit but the company folded. But I get it
from my father who died. I'm his you know, disabled son.
Now I don't know whether I have to go.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
In at what at what age did your dad die?
How old were you?
Speaker 8 (28:10):
Uh see, it was how he died and I was
no How.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Old were you Joe, Joe, Yeah, just tell me how
old you were.
Speaker 8 (28:18):
I think I was.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
A prosimately, Joe would work. Were you six or seven?
Were you fifteen? Were you twenty? How old were you?
Speaker 8 (28:27):
No, he died a few years ago. When he died, I.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Was in my Joe, this is a real simple question, Joe,
This is a really simple question. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:36):
I just told you I was in my seventy if
he died around nineteen ninety.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Okay, So you were in your seventies and nineteen nineties,
so now you what one hundred?
Speaker 8 (28:47):
No, I'm seventy eight. I was. I probably got the
dates mixed up. Nineteen ninety okay, So what's okay?
Speaker 2 (28:52):
So you have been on Social Security? You're for most
of your life because because you're you've been disabled. Correct
you're blind?
Speaker 4 (29:00):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yes, Now do you get You don't get a big
check for that, I assume, But what does it help you?
Speaker 8 (29:07):
No? I only get like thirteen hundred a month, that's all.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Okay. Have you ever worked and contributed to Social Yes?
Speaker 8 (29:14):
I did when I was in Philadelphia for about a
couple of months and the company folded.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Okay, so you've worked for two months. You worked for
two months so how much money do you think you
contributed to Social Security in those two months?
Speaker 8 (29:27):
God, I honestly don't know. That was in the seventies
of sixties. I really don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Fifty bucks, fifty bucks, sixty bucks.
Speaker 8 (29:33):
Maybe about hundred bucks. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
So you've been on so security now disability for a
little over fifty.
Speaker 8 (29:41):
Years, yeah, around that, yeah, okay, and you're.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Making thirteen hundred a month, so that probably works out
to about I don't know, fifteen thousand a year.
Speaker 8 (29:52):
Yeah, you know, around that, yes, Lily, proximately.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Okay, So if you've been on it for fifty years,
you probably made you probably had about three quarters of
a million dollars in benefits, which, again, over the course
of a lifetime, you've got a whole lot of money.
But you if you paid in like maybe two hundred
dollars and you've benefited about seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
(30:17):
So there's a lot of folks who and so security
is kind of an insurance system. I never suffered from
a disability, and I would never trade places with you,
my friend.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
Okay, but I know you've said that to me before.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yeah, well I believe it. I mean, I can't of
imagine how difficult your life has been. You know, I
know you're doing a fighter and I'm not patronizing you.
All I'm just telling you is that this is a
little bit of an insurance program when it basically says
to us, Look, if something happened to me, if I
fell off a roof, you know, fifty years ago or whatever,
(30:53):
I would have been in your situation. But so I
probably contributed more to Social Security than I've taken get out,
and if I live long enough, maybe I'll end up
taking out a little bit more. But obviously they've had
the use of the money. So it's there's an insurance
aspect to it, there's a retirement aspect to it, and
do me a fav I just don't want you to
(31:14):
be worried you're so security better, No I'm not.
Speaker 8 (31:17):
Because I've heard Eli. I heard him say that the
Social Security should increase. I just hope he does it
right and get gets rid of the fraud, because a
lot of those calls are fraud. I know I called
in a few years ago when I had to switch
my bank, and I don't know about now. If I
ever have to switch a bank, I may have to
go into the office. I don't know. I hope not.
So that's a that's a lot of work.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Okay, all right, I'm going to let you go. I
thank you for calling and uh and thank god we
have so security for folks.
Speaker 8 (31:47):
And good and good luck dealing with I want to
wish Rick good luck. I hope he gets it straightened out.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Absolute thanks, Joe, appreciate it. Thank you much. We'll be
back right after this quick break on nightside. Feel fraid
to join the car. I can carry this into the
next hour if you want, but that's your decision. The
audience decides what we talk about. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
If you have a question, I'll try to help you.
I would really suggest that if you get a moment today,
(32:17):
go onto the Boston Globe website and look up the
article written by Sean Murphy, who's he really writes great
stuff for the Globe. And his article is the byline
is what's called the fine print that says digging into
social Security, and he did dig into it. And tomorrow
I will have Jim Roosevelt on the grandson of Franklin
(32:40):
Roosevelt who signed President Franklin Rosevelt, who signed the Social
Security Bill. I just want people. I don't want people
to go to bed. There's enough things to worry about.
You can worry about nuclear war, you can worry about
a lot of things, but don't worry about social security
at this point. Okay, Trump maybe in many respects a
little out there, but he's not going to mess with
(33:02):
soil security in my opinion and by basically his statements,
unless he wants to prove himself. He has said repeatedly,
and Elon Musk has said repeatedly, they're not going to
mess with social security or medic here. Back on Nightside
after this, You're on.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
By the worry, By the way, I also received an
email from so Security telling me that I had just
signed into my account and if if someone else had
signed it in my account, I should notify them again.
If if it wasn't, you weset your password, uh and
change your authentication methods immediately.
Speaker 8 (33:45):
It worked.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Don't have to do that. Next up, let's go to
Paul and Need and Paul and You are next on Nightside. Welcome,
Thanks very much, for checking in and go ahead, Paul, Oh.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
You Dan, I know you, I know you have a
lot of listeners that are retire and city state government
workers and they get pensions from the government or the
city of the state.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
And are you aware of the recent social security fairness.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
That that has just been changed in March. As a
matter of fact, I have a good friend of mine
who worked for the City of Boston, one of the
facilities in the City of Boston, and that has that
has been changed and there was some back back social
security payments given by the government. Yes.
Speaker 4 (34:31):
Yeah, that's Bill h R. Eighty two and it was
passed on January fifth, and it's the Social Security Fairness
Act which eliminates the windfall petition. Yes, correct, Yeah, the
years teachers, police officers.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
And anyone anyone who worked. Yeah, they they got. The
argument was that they they they probably had qualified for
a state pension or and they should not get a
second pension. But if they had worked ten quarters in
the private sector, I think they they certainly should need
to get two pensions.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
The government worker was penalized in other words.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Well he was he or she was, assuming that they
had that they had also worked the requisite number of quarters,
which I believe is forty quarters or ten years correct
in the private sector. So if somebody worked for let's
say the MBTA and they retired at the age of fifty,
they got it. You know, they could get a pension
(35:33):
at the NBTA, by the way, as early as forty
two back in the day, they retired at the age
of fifty, and then they went and worked in another
job for ten years they had they could only get one.
One was offset against the other. No, I agree with that,
gled you pointed that out.
Speaker 4 (35:50):
Yeah, that's a wonderful thing that that passed. I know
John Kerry when he was in the Senate, he worked
hard on that to try to get that eliminated, the
windflaw petition. But I think there was the Federation the
teachers that were the leader in getting this done.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah again it yep, it's done and it was it's
it's the law and it went into effect in early March. Paul,
I appreciate it. I just got to go a couple
more here. I want to try to sneak you. Thank
you for sharing that great, great information. Thank you. Next up,
Sandy is an effort. Sandy, you were Next time nightside.
Speaker 6 (36:22):
Go right ahead, Well, hi Dan, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Sandy? What's your take on tonight?
Speaker 7 (36:29):
My take is also what you were trying to help
the gentleman out as far as on making sure all
your paperwork and photo it ts are verified in the
government's system. I did get a notice I think around
November of last year to make sure I do that
by like January or something, and so I did everything right.
(36:54):
The only challenge was trying to upload your driver's license
because you have to up to upload your Social Security
card and your driver slice. And I even put my
image on like where I had a table met that
was black because they say do it on a dark background,
So that was challenging for me. Coincidentally, I don't know
where where in this system, I came across an eight
(37:16):
hundred number, called that number, and I took a chance,
you know how, you're at the right place at the
right time. I was there in home, and I left
the voice now you know, like a callback, you know,
to call me back. I'bby darn. It's a really nice woman.
I forget her, asked me, but her first name is Michelle.
She called me back within thirty minutes. She sent me,
(37:38):
and she sent me in and what do you call it?
And like an encrypt.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Encrypted encrypted message.
Speaker 7 (37:46):
Yep, okay, sure, sorry, my coat's bowing on me. And
I was able to upload my driver's lie and image
of it that way, and I'm all set. But those
who can do that or you know, find it intimidating
because I'm pretty pcy literal. But those who and I'm
(38:06):
seventy three so and I'm blessed. But those who are
are unable or intimidated about uploading information or maybe not
be comfortable doing that, they can actually go to the
local post office that will help them upload such documentary.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Well that's great information. I didn't know that. Yeah, No,
that's great information. Yeah, I think that's yeah. I mean
I know that you get passports now at your post office.
It used to be that you had to go into
the federal building downtown. So there's ways to do this
and make it less stressful. And I hope that's what
the Trump administration is trying to do here. It doesn't
(38:42):
make any sense to make it tougher on people, make
it easier on people who are truly eligible to be
Social Security recipients, and eliminate the fraudsters. I don't have
a problem with eliminating the fraudsters, and I want.
Speaker 4 (39:01):
To make me either else.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Okay, great, Hey, thanks so much, Sandy.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
I got a screw it.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Okay, I got the ten. Thanks so much for calling.
I appreciate that. That's a good short. So we've done
this hour what I wanted to do, and i'd like
to continue into the next hour. I got Jack on
the cape. Jack, stay there if you like it. A
couple more folks want to join, we'll we'll go deeper
into this into the next hour. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty or six one, seven, nine, three, one, ten
thirty Back on night Side.
It's Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm w BZY Boston's Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, thanks very much, Dan Watkins. As we move
into our first talk hour of the week, we had
a guest scheduled for tonight. Who's going to join us
tomorrow night. I'm a little disappointed, but suffice it to
say there were some travel issues, and tomorrow night, I
(00:29):
think all of you will be really enjoy my guest,
Boston Attorney James Roosevelt. Jim Roosevelt, who I've known for
a long time. He is a lifelong Democrat, the grandson
of the late great President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who actually
signed the Social Security Act into law back in nineteen
(00:51):
thirty five at the height of the Great Depression. Also,
Jim Roosevelt has served as an Associate Commissioner of the
Social Security Administration during the Clinton administration in the nineteen nineties.
And we'll see what his perspective on this is. There
(01:12):
was a great piece today, I thought in the Boston Globe,
and I think you know all of you know that
there are days in the Globe when I'm not as
thrilled with it as normal. But Sean Murphy wrote, I
thought a really great piece today on the Business Section,
front page of the Business Section, which is the D section,
(01:36):
digging into social security, and Sean dealt with some of
the concerns that people have with sole security and a
lot of it is really interesting to me. And I
just want to hit a couple of the highlights from
Seawan's article, and I'd like to invite a conversation. Know
(02:00):
that there's a lot of people who are trying to
raise this as a political issue. I don't see it
as a political issue, nor should it be a political issue.
I don't know what success Elon Musk and his band
(02:20):
of merry people will have. I do know that Musk
was at an event yesterday in Wisconsin. There's a fairly
heated political race going on in Wisconsin, and Elon Musk
made some comments, and we have some of those comments
(02:41):
which which we're more than happy to share with you
to get the conversation going. We also have some some
other articles which which again we can we can get to.
So for example, Musk yesterday, we're I here, yeah, let
me this was Elon Musk yesterday talking about well this
(03:09):
is this is Musk cut number twenty two and before
before we go to that. Let me let me just
say this Social Security I have a view of it.
Some people call it an entitlement program. I think it's
an entitlement program at one level. But it's also a
contract between people like me and you. I'm taking SO
(03:32):
Security benefits, uh, because they spent my entire life contributing
to Social Security and through SO Security to medicure and
all of that has accounted for, you know, tens of thousands,
if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you look
at your paychecks, h or if you look at your
(03:56):
your your W two's, or if you keep your W
twos from you years past. Uh, if you are on
Social Security, that's a contract. Uh. It's not a contract
like signed by a baseball player or a movie star.
It's a contract or that the union head signs on
behalf of a union. It's a contract that exists between you,
(04:18):
an employee who has paid your taxes and has contributed
to this SO security system. And the contract essentially says this, look,
you contribute during your working life. Now there are others
who will benefit from it, and Sean Murphy, you know,
certainly talks about those today. You know, individuals who find
(04:39):
themselves being disabled, they can benefit from social security. Children
of people who have passed away early, they can contribute.
They can benefit from social security. But when you think
of people with you know, people with disabilities, et cetera.
So we can we get all of that, okay u.
(05:00):
But the backbone of social security is the money that
working Americans had paid. Now, when so security first started
in nineteen thirty five and people were eligible in nineteen
thirty five to retire it, I assume it was the
age of sixty five. There weren't a lot of people
making into the age of sixty five. Life expectancies were
(05:23):
a lot shorter than in this country. But those who
did make it were able to take get a SOB
security check. It wasn't a big check, but it was something,
particularly in the midst of the Great Depression that eventually,
I think historians would argue, and maybe I would argue,
(05:46):
was the Depression was ended sadly by the onset of
World War I two. But that story for another day.
So those of us who baby boomers who are now
coming into the security system, we've paid in a long
long time. You have to pay in for the equivalent
of ten years four quarters. Okay, I think everybody knows that. Now,
(06:10):
if you're somebody who is in a different category and
you have disabilities, yeah you're gonna be You're gonna be
taken care of by SO Security. Again, you're not going
to become a millionaire. I don't think there's anyone who
thinks that. But at least you won't be out on
the street, you know, in lines looking looking for apples.
(06:32):
So I view it as a contract, and if you've
paid into it, yeah, you your benefits should not and
will not be cut. This is what Elon Musk said yesterday.
Cut number twenty two, Please rob cut number twenty two.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I guess it'll be helpful because so I just stated
as crisply and clearly as possible that those will well
absolutely ensure that people get their Social Security, make sure
they get the Social Security, make sure they get the Medicaid,
and will not be cutting any legitimate payments whatsoever.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Crystal Claire, Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Mean, look, SO Security third rail of American politics. Whenever
a politician has said that he or she wants to
cut Social Security, they lose a lot of very reliable
and dependent and dependable voters. Okay, do I think that
they may raise, as they have in the past, raise
(07:36):
through time and age for so security by a couple
of months. Yeah, yeah, they could happen. Do I think
that there could be some other things that are done
around the margins? Maybe? Maybe, But I just think that
to whip people into a frenzy on this is unfair.
(07:58):
Now there will be again if you haven't had a
chance to look at the column written by Sean Murphy,
who does a great job. He talks about there will
be an effort to make people get an identification verification process. Unfortunately,
(08:25):
that's if we want to keep the system solvent. I
think we got to go through that, and there has
to be a way in which organizations and communities can
help citizens who do not have access to the internet
to do that. In the column today he talks about that,
(08:46):
talks about a number of things. I just want to
open up the conversation if you have a concern or whatever.
I think Sean Murphy has laid it out and I
want to give him every credit for having done this,
because we're going to quote from his column and tomorrow
we'll have Jim Roosevelt with us at nine o'clock. But
in the meantime, it's me in you six one, seven, two, five,
(09:10):
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
Raise a question. I'll try to give you a straight answer.
If I can't give you a straight answer, I'll tell
you I don't know the answer and we'll be able
to pick it up tomorrow Night with Jim Roosevelt. Social Security. Look,
let's not freak people out. People who are on SO
security and who are depending upon SO security. We're all
(09:31):
dealing with increased prices, and we have been dealing with
increased prices for a couple of years now dramatically. Okay,
So let's let's try to calm some people down. And
if you want to join the conversation, your SO security
check next month will arrive in April, it will arrive
in May, It'll arrive in June, July, August, and September,
(09:54):
and there won't be reductions, and there will be a
col increase, a cost of living adjustment next next October.
Will there be some economies affected, Yes, some offices closed, yes,
some employees laid off. Yes, join the conversation. My name
is Dan Ray and this is Nights. I'd love to
have you join us.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So we're talking about social security and I'd like to
talk about it in a rational way in which people
are not And again I highly recommend reading Sean Murphy's
piece in the Boston Globe today. I thought it was
very clear you're going to have to probably at some point,
(10:41):
if you're going to become a new soci security recipient,
your identification is going to have to be verified. Now again,
they have made some exceptions for people pop who are
(11:01):
elderly or are disabled. They still be able. It says
some current recipients may be able to do so without
verifying their identity by using their banks automatic enrollment service.
When this identification verified, identity verification required. According to Sean Murphy,
(11:25):
when you first apply for your benefit, you must verify
your identity. That's not new, and of course makes perfect sense.
If you're a current recipient, you may have to verify
your identity if you change your direct deposit banking information.
Some current recipients, however, may be able to do so
without verifying their identity by using their banks automatic enrollment service.
So again, all of this, I think all of this
(11:48):
is going to be Okay. The goal here is to
eliminate people who might be receiving Social Security benefits inappropriately.
If feel like join a conversation, feel free six point
seven two five thirty or six one seven thirty, then
we go first to fill in Boston. Fill you at
first this hour on nights side. Welcome.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
I don't dan. I'm surprised social Security is lostes this long.
I mean, but then maybe it's moument. And you mentioned
court the age. The age goes up months at a time.
And I'm probably wrong in this situation, but I understand
you pay social Security if you work forty, if stay
(12:31):
fifty forty sixty grand a year or whatever. But if
it may have over one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars,
they don't take any more social Security audio only. That
doesn't make sense. Why don't we raise that amount of
you know, try that if you wake one hundred seventy
five thousand dollars a year, you pay those security taxes
(12:51):
on the one five to the one seventy five.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah. Well, well that's something that Congress could certainly do,
and what Congress has done in the past. Social Security
for many many years was capped at a certain level,
and then as inflation kind of came along. In the
nineteen eighties, they there was a big so Security Reform
Act with Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neil, and one of
(13:16):
the things is they did raise the cap a little bit,
so security recipients now are paying Medicare tax. There comes
a point in time where the tax has become unreasonable.
So security has been funded. It's gonna it's it's solvent.
I believe through at this point twenty thirty four, they
(13:40):
you know, they have enough money. And sometimes what you
have to do is look at it and say, they're
never going to raise the retirement aged at like seventy
five or eighty. So don't worry about that, Okay, I
think right now, and I could be wrong. I see
them to be correct that I don't have it in
front of me. I think it's like sixty seven or
sixty six and ten months or something thing like that.
(14:01):
But Americans are living longer, so that's one thing you
can you could raise. You could say, anybody that makes
more than a million dollars a year, let's take all
of their excess money and and and and can make
make it contributed to social security. I don't think that
Congress has the stomach for that, and I don't think
(14:22):
the American people do either.
Speaker 5 (14:24):
How many people may go over one hundred twenty year,
I mean a lot.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
There are a lot of people. Well, let me ask
you this. Think about it. Do you ever watch a
sporting event on television like a basketball, hockey, football, or
a baseball game, every one of those individuals making more
than a half a million. I think the major league
minimum now is somewhere around six hundred thousand dollars, and
that's the lowest minimum in the country. So you can
(14:53):
take all the pro athletes, I mean, but you can't
do that. You can't say we're going to tax all
the pro athletes everything in excess.
Speaker 5 (15:03):
I'm not.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
You know, you'll you'll be Okay, how old do you feel.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
For this way? I was. I was in Latin school
and yet the time you were going there.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Okay, are you retired?
Speaker 5 (15:15):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Are you getting so security?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:20):
What do you mean?
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
You either you are? You are? Did you work? Did
you to get Social Security as a retirement? You have
to work what they call ten quarters? It worked forty quarters?
Excuse me, basically contribute for ten years. I assume you did.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
That right, Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yeah, okay, And did you did you get an increase
in your SO security a couple of years ago when
inflation was running in about nine percent?
Speaker 5 (15:45):
I work a little bit.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Yeah, you've got a big increase. You get it. You
get a nine percent increase, whether you know it or not.
Speaker 4 (15:51):
Yeah, yeah, you know. So.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
I mean, it's okay, You've got to be okay. I
just I think a lot of people are worrying about this,
you know, I do you do you think there's any
fraud in social security?
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Oh, I don't want to see quarter on the I
mean yeah, I would think those fraud and everything else. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
So if they can find some fraud and get rid
of it, you know, I want to see the proof.
Don't get me wrong, but I think that Hey, let's
see what happens. I am not worried about them taking
my SO security check away, and you shouldn't either, though.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Okay, No, First of all, did thank you for talking
to me. I'll let you go one lo comment you
said it wouldn't it be? Just man, I don't want
to confuse the issue. If you make one hundred and
twenty five thousand dollars, Yeah, there's a cutoff perviot here. Well,
you can make a hound. They don't touch one of those.
Every said they don't tach within in a month. But
(16:54):
shouldn't that be kind of I don't even a congos,
and I don't want to keep feeding myself, but shouldn't
that be kind of a little I have one thing
between the age and you know, I.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Guess they'll they'll raise that up a little bit. That's
going to get raised up. But if you're making one
hundred and twenty five thousand dollars and all of a
sudden you make one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, you
know your federal taxes are going to probably whack you
for about a third of the difference. So you probably
go from one twenty five to one fifty. I'll bet
you that's an increase of eight thousand in federal taxes.
(17:23):
So now you get back another couple of thousand dollars
dollars on for sold security. I mean, making one hundred
and twenty five thousand dollars or one hundred fifty thousand dollars,
you're not going to become a millionaire.
Speaker 5 (17:34):
Fill I mean on that side, I unfortunately I understand
that I finally got it out right. Thanks for that,
I guess style audios.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Thanks, touch to you later, good night, take a quick break,
I'm not I don't want to short change Rick and Dover.
He's up next. And then I got Joe and Lynn.
I got some room for you both at six one, seven, two, five,
four to ten thirty and at six one, seven, nine
three one ten thirty. The purpose tonight is to basically
calm people down. I mean, I could be a lot more.
(18:04):
I guess scary uh and tell you well, you never know.
They might elimitate No, no, they're not going to eliminate
Social Security. I don't think that any benefits that people
are receiving now legitimately are going to be taken away
from them. And I hope that if there are new
people who are going to have to get a certified
(18:27):
new people signing up certified federal account, that it's done
in such a way that it's relatively easy. And look,
every politician, if they're smart, no, none of them, most
of them really aren't. But every politician could could volunteer
to set up Saturday sessions at public libraries in their
(18:48):
districts in which they would have people there to help
people who need that help in lieu of social Security offices.
We'll see this is this is there are there are
options here joined the conversation back right after the news
at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
It's nice with Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
All right, let's get back to the call. It's going
to go to a Rick in Dover. Rick, welcome back.
How are you sir?
Speaker 6 (19:16):
Hey? How you doing?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Dah doing great? What's what you're taking all of this? Rick?
Speaker 6 (19:21):
I gotta say, this is the first time I enjoyed
your opening and the comment of a first call. You're
a spot on as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Well, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
It was great hearing it.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I wish I wish that that was not that there
have been other times, but that's okay. I just uh,
I think we're putting people into a bit of a panic.
And did you reach n Murphy's piece in the Globe
today by any chance or no? Now?
Speaker 6 (19:49):
But I'm on Social Security and I got to go
in and I prove I'm alive in the next couple
of days.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Well, let me ask how long have you been on
Social Security?
Speaker 7 (19:59):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (19:59):
Probably five years?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Five years and you never got you never got your
identification verified.
Speaker 6 (20:08):
I had to go in like one or two times.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, but now.
Speaker 6 (20:13):
All of a sudden, it's a new thing. And I
called them because I read the White House, you know,
press release and stuff. And first it says that you
don't have to come in if you're already getting it.
Da da da da da, unless it's a regular schedule review.
They do those like every two years. But then at
the bottom it said, oh, yeah, but you've really got
(20:34):
to prove your live though. So I called him and
you know, question him. And first the person that answered said, oh,
you don't have to come in. You know you're you're good.
And then I said, well, why is it say this
down on the press release, and then she went and
talked to the supervisor. I guess it made me an appointment.
So I'm going in the next couple of days to
prove them alive and breathing and who I am. And
(20:57):
of course from firstus here to get every form idea.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, I'll tell you I was able several years ago,
and I'm not the smartest guy. On terms of the computer,
I was able to essentially upload a driver's license or
I forget if it was a birth certificate from my
phone or from my computer. I guess it was UH.
(21:24):
And I also took a picture of myself and I
have a SOB security number. I've never had to go
through this. I did it electronically about four or five
years ago. I'm surprised that that you didn't do it
back then. Let me ask you this, do you have
a SOB security account? Like can you go on to
you know, so security dot gov?
Speaker 6 (21:44):
And I tried that every time it wouldn't let me
do it. But I mean I got to check every month,
no no review.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah, but there's let me see if I can help
you out here for a seconds, just for for for
for second here, Okay, I'm not the smartest guy in
terms of so in terms of computers. I want you
to know that I I don't get the lingo or
anything like that. I'm probably something either. Yeah, I mean, so,
(22:16):
so I go to uh an item here a website
which is s s a dot gov slash my account.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Right?
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Have you have you tried that that website or not?
Speaker 6 (22:31):
I tried. I tried it and then they said, oh
I got a duplicate or count or something, so it
wouldn't let me log in, because supposedly when I try
to log in once, it wouldn't let me do it,
and now won't let me do it at all. I'm
gonna try to fix it in the next couple of days.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Okay, so let me tell you again, if you if
you well, if you write this down, it might help
you a little bit. I don't know what what office
are you going to? Are you living Dover? So how
far do you have to go?
Speaker 6 (22:58):
I'm only going to Portsmouth, so it's not a big deal.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Okay. So so you know you're in You're in Dover,
New Hampshire, right, Okay, I thought you were in Dover, Massachusetts. Okay,
so it isn't a big deal.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
So if you go s s a dot gov, slash
my account. Okay, there's a sign in button. So I
clicked the signing button, uh, and it says I can
sign in with log in dot gov or I can
sign in with I d dot me or signing with
(23:29):
my SoC security user game okay, user name. So I
I go to.
Speaker 6 (23:40):
I'm trying it.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Okay, Well when I go to all right, now I
get it. I go to secure dot log in dot gov.
Here's my email address, and my password is right there.
It says show password. I know what my password is,
so they they've kept my password and I submit it
and all of a sudden, they want to send me
(24:02):
a one time code. Okay, and my phone is across
the room here.
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Uh so hold on, Rick, I don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I know I'm going to help you out. Man. I'm
going to help you out. I want to.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
I'm gonna have them do that because I'm going over there.
Speaker 8 (24:26):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
So I went, I grabbed my phone, which I was charging.
You're still there, Rick, yeah, good, Okay, So I got
a log in number here. I'm not going to tell
you what the log in number is, but I'm going
to put it in. It's a six six number code.
Boom boom boom boom boom. Okay, I got my code.
(24:50):
Here we go, okyeah, yep, uh huh okay. Do not
use spaces or capital letters. Okay. Okay, so that.
Speaker 6 (25:03):
Any is in capital and.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Oh my god, oh yeah, this is.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Why they did that. I don't know. Okay, well you
might be right. So now I okay, now my one
time code, here's another one.
Speaker 8 (25:17):
Here we go, uh.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, point no, no, no, I'm proving you point. Here
we go.
Speaker 7 (25:27):
Oh my god, go ahead, I'm in.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
I agree to terms of service. Just a little check.
I agree. Next, Here we go next, and I'm looking. Welcome, Daniel.
You last signed in on January seventh, at twelve twenty
five pm Eastern time. I got my benefits summary, I
got my SO security payment here. I'm not on Medicare
(25:56):
because I have my wife's coverage and I'm enrolled in
medica here. You got to enroll in Medicare when you
turn seventy, right, believe me on that. And then if
i'd like, I can get my Social Security statement, which
is going to tell me that I can look at
everything that I have contributed to my SO security you know,
(26:19):
how forever, how long I've worked. Okay, Yeah, so here's that.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Which one? Which one? Are they talking about cutting Medicare
or Medicaid.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
There's no cut on Medicare. Musk just said that. And again,
now you know, if you want to assume that the
guy is a uh, you know, total liar, Okay, and
again I'm looking at.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
A scheme last week.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
But.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Uh, he has said that in the past, Okay, and
what what I believe he meant by that? Was if
you pay you to so security Rick for your entire life,
and you die at sixty five before you've taken so security,
you know you're you don't get the door because you're dead. No,
(27:16):
look right, you know so so to some extent there
Now conversely, there was one year, you know, when George
Steinberner died when there was no estate tax. So Steinberner's
estate was not taxed. So there are those sort of anomalies.
But anyway, look, I wish you're best of luck. Do
me a favor. Let me know how you make out tomorrow. Okay,
(27:38):
I thanks Dan, thank you, thank you very much, my friend.
We'll talk to you later.
Speaker 6 (27:42):
Good night, bye bye, good night.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I'm just here to try to help, that's all. Let
me go next to Joe. Joe joins us from Lynn Joe.
Next time, Dan, Joe.
Speaker 8 (27:50):
It's crazy. Yeah, I get so security. I worked a
little bit but the company folded. But I get it
from my father who died. I'm his you know, disabled son.
Now I don't know whether I have to go.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
In at what at what age did your dad die?
How old were you?
Speaker 8 (28:10):
Uh see, it was how he died and I was
no How.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Old were you Joe, Joe, Yeah, just tell me how
old you were.
Speaker 8 (28:18):
I think I was.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
A prosimately, Joe would work. Were you six or seven?
Were you fifteen? Were you twenty? How old were you?
Speaker 8 (28:27):
No, he died a few years ago. When he died, I.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Was in my Joe, this is a real simple question, Joe,
This is a really simple question. Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:36):
I just told you I was in my seventy if
he died around nineteen ninety.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Okay, So you were in your seventies and nineteen nineties,
so now you what one hundred?
Speaker 8 (28:47):
No, I'm seventy eight. I was. I probably got the
dates mixed up. Nineteen ninety okay, So what's okay?
Speaker 2 (28:52):
So you have been on Social Security? You're for most
of your life because because you're you've been disabled. Correct
you're blind?
Speaker 4 (29:00):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yes, Now do you get You don't get a big
check for that, I assume, But what does it help you?
Speaker 8 (29:07):
No? I only get like thirteen hundred a month, that's all.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Okay. Have you ever worked and contributed to Social Yes?
Speaker 8 (29:14):
I did when I was in Philadelphia for about a
couple of months and the company folded.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Okay, so you've worked for two months. You worked for
two months so how much money do you think you
contributed to Social Security in those two months?
Speaker 8 (29:27):
God, I honestly don't know. That was in the seventies
of sixties. I really don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Fifty bucks, fifty bucks, sixty bucks.
Speaker 8 (29:33):
Maybe about hundred bucks. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
So you've been on so security now disability for a
little over fifty.
Speaker 8 (29:41):
Years, yeah, around that, yeah, okay, and you're.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Making thirteen hundred a month, so that probably works out
to about I don't know, fifteen thousand a year.
Speaker 8 (29:52):
Yeah, you know, around that, yes, Lily, proximately.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
Okay, So if you've been on it for fifty years,
you probably made you probably had about three quarters of
a million dollars in benefits, which, again, over the course
of a lifetime, you've got a whole lot of money.
But you if you paid in like maybe two hundred
dollars and you've benefited about seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
(30:17):
So there's a lot of folks who and so security
is kind of an insurance system. I never suffered from
a disability, and I would never trade places with you,
my friend.
Speaker 8 (30:27):
Okay, but I know you've said that to me before.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yeah, well I believe it. I mean, I can't of
imagine how difficult your life has been. You know, I
know you're doing a fighter and I'm not patronizing you.
All I'm just telling you is that this is a
little bit of an insurance program when it basically says
to us, Look, if something happened to me, if I
fell off a roof, you know, fifty years ago or whatever,
(30:53):
I would have been in your situation. But so I
probably contributed more to Social Security than I've taken get out,
and if I live long enough, maybe I'll end up
taking out a little bit more. But obviously they've had
the use of the money. So it's there's an insurance
aspect to it, there's a retirement aspect to it, and
do me a fav I just don't want you to
(31:14):
be worried you're so security better, No I'm not.
Speaker 8 (31:17):
Because I've heard Eli. I heard him say that the
Social Security should increase. I just hope he does it
right and get gets rid of the fraud, because a
lot of those calls are fraud. I know I called
in a few years ago when I had to switch
my bank, and I don't know about now. If I
ever have to switch a bank, I may have to
go into the office. I don't know. I hope not.
So that's a that's a lot of work.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Okay, all right, I'm going to let you go. I
thank you for calling and uh and thank god we
have so security for folks.
Speaker 8 (31:47):
And good and good luck dealing with I want to
wish Rick good luck. I hope he gets it straightened out.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Absolute thanks, Joe, appreciate it. Thank you much. We'll be
back right after this quick break on nightside. Feel fraid
to join the car. I can carry this into the
next hour if you want, but that's your decision. The
audience decides what we talk about. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
If you have a question, I'll try to help you.
I would really suggest that if you get a moment today,
(32:17):
go onto the Boston Globe website and look up the
article written by Sean Murphy, who's he really writes great
stuff for the Globe. And his article is the byline
is what's called the fine print that says digging into
social Security, and he did dig into it. And tomorrow
I will have Jim Roosevelt on the grandson of Franklin
(32:40):
Roosevelt who signed President Franklin Rosevelt, who signed the Social
Security Bill. I just want people. I don't want people
to go to bed. There's enough things to worry about.
You can worry about nuclear war, you can worry about
a lot of things, but don't worry about social security
at this point. Okay, Trump maybe in many respects a
little out there, but he's not going to mess with
(33:02):
soil security in my opinion and by basically his statements,
unless he wants to prove himself. He has said repeatedly,
and Elon Musk has said repeatedly, they're not going to
mess with social security or medic here. Back on Nightside
after this, You're on.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
By the worry, By the way, I also received an
email from so Security telling me that I had just
signed into my account and if if someone else had
signed it in my account, I should notify them again.
If if it wasn't, you weset your password, uh and
change your authentication methods immediately.
Speaker 8 (33:45):
It worked.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Don't have to do that. Next up, let's go to
Paul and Need and Paul and You are next on Nightside. Welcome,
Thanks very much, for checking in and go ahead, Paul, Oh.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
You Dan, I know you, I know you have a
lot of listeners that are retire and city state government
workers and they get pensions from the government or the
city of the state.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
And are you aware of the recent social security fairness.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
That that has just been changed in March. As a
matter of fact, I have a good friend of mine
who worked for the City of Boston, one of the
facilities in the City of Boston, and that has that
has been changed and there was some back back social
security payments given by the government. Yes.
Speaker 4 (34:31):
Yeah, that's Bill h R. Eighty two and it was
passed on January fifth, and it's the Social Security Fairness
Act which eliminates the windfall petition. Yes, correct, Yeah, the
years teachers, police officers.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
And anyone anyone who worked. Yeah, they they got. The
argument was that they they they probably had qualified for
a state pension or and they should not get a
second pension. But if they had worked ten quarters in
the private sector, I think they they certainly should need
to get two pensions.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
The government worker was penalized in other words.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Well he was he or she was, assuming that they
had that they had also worked the requisite number of quarters,
which I believe is forty quarters or ten years correct
in the private sector. So if somebody worked for let's
say the MBTA and they retired at the age of fifty,
they got it. You know, they could get a pension
(35:33):
at the NBTA, by the way, as early as forty
two back in the day, they retired at the age
of fifty, and then they went and worked in another
job for ten years they had they could only get one.
One was offset against the other. No, I agree with that,
gled you pointed that out.
Speaker 4 (35:50):
Yeah, that's a wonderful thing that that passed. I know
John Kerry when he was in the Senate, he worked
hard on that to try to get that eliminated, the
windflaw petition. But I think there was the Federation the
teachers that were the leader in getting this done.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Yeah again it yep, it's done and it was it's
it's the law and it went into effect in early March. Paul,
I appreciate it. I just got to go a couple
more here. I want to try to sneak you. Thank
you for sharing that great, great information. Thank you. Next up,
Sandy is an effort. Sandy, you were Next time nightside.
Speaker 6 (36:22):
Go right ahead, Well, hi Dan, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Sandy? What's your take on tonight?
Speaker 7 (36:29):
My take is also what you were trying to help
the gentleman out as far as on making sure all
your paperwork and photo it ts are verified in the
government's system. I did get a notice I think around
November of last year to make sure I do that
by like January or something, and so I did everything right.
(36:54):
The only challenge was trying to upload your driver's license
because you have to up to upload your Social Security
card and your driver slice. And I even put my
image on like where I had a table met that
was black because they say do it on a dark background,
So that was challenging for me. Coincidentally, I don't know
where where in this system, I came across an eight
(37:16):
hundred number, called that number, and I took a chance,
you know how, you're at the right place at the
right time. I was there in home, and I left
the voice now you know, like a callback, you know,
to call me back. I'bby darn. It's a really nice woman.
I forget her, asked me, but her first name is Michelle.
She called me back within thirty minutes. She sent me,
(37:38):
and she sent me in and what do you call it?
And like an encrypt.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
Encrypted encrypted message.
Speaker 7 (37:46):
Yep, okay, sure, sorry, my coat's bowing on me. And
I was able to upload my driver's lie and image
of it that way, and I'm all set. But those
who can do that or you know, find it intimidating
because I'm pretty pcy literal. But those who and I'm
(38:06):
seventy three so and I'm blessed. But those who are
are unable or intimidated about uploading information or maybe not
be comfortable doing that, they can actually go to the
local post office that will help them upload such documentary.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Well that's great information. I didn't know that. Yeah, No,
that's great information. Yeah, I think that's yeah. I mean
I know that you get passports now at your post office.
It used to be that you had to go into
the federal building downtown. So there's ways to do this
and make it less stressful. And I hope that's what
the Trump administration is trying to do here. It doesn't
(38:42):
make any sense to make it tougher on people, make
it easier on people who are truly eligible to be
Social Security recipients, and eliminate the fraudsters. I don't have
a problem with eliminating the fraudsters, and I want.
Speaker 4 (39:01):
To make me either else.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Okay, great, Hey, thanks so much, Sandy.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
I got a screw it.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Okay, I got the ten. Thanks so much for calling.
I appreciate that. That's a good short. So we've done
this hour what I wanted to do, and i'd like
to continue into the next hour. I got Jack on
the cape. Jack, stay there if you like it. A
couple more folks want to join, we'll we'll go deeper
into this into the next hour. Six one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty or six one, seven, nine, three, one, ten
thirty Back on night Side.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!