Rising healthcare costs and government spending have contributed to a projected depletion date that is less than 10 years from now.

A recently released agreement gives the Department of Homeland Security access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ Social Security data. It contains alarmingly few provisions to ensure accuracy and privacy, experts say.

Nearly 400,000 Social Security and SSI recipients receive their benefits through paper checks.

Today, the program provides benefits to almost 69 million Americans monthly. It’s a major source of income for people over 65 and is popular across the country and political lines. It also looks more threatened than ever.

The DOGE victories come amid a messy breakup that started shortly after Elon Musk’s departure from the White House and has included threats to cut government contracts and a call for the president to be impeached.

The 82-year-old Democrat has largely avoided speaking publicly since leaving the White House in January, which is typically the tradition for immediate past presidents.

The planned purge comes as the agency’s long-glitchy technology is suffering more outages than usual, multiple current and former employees, as well as advocates, told CNN. Also adding to the stress on the systems is the increased number of concerned Americans accessing the public “my Social Security” website, calling the 800 number and visiting local offices amid the turmoil surrounding the agency.

Across-the-board cuts at the Social Security Administration are prompting questions about how the benefits of millions of recipients may be affected. Here’s a look at cuts to the agency, which serves more than 70 million Americans, and potential effects for recipients.

The Trump administration is falsely claiming that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments.

The $880 billion Medicaid program is financed mostly by federal taxpayers, who pick up as much as 80% of the tab in some states. And states, too, have said they’re having trouble financing years of growth and sicker patients who enrolled in Medicaid.

The former president and now president-elect often skipped over details but through more than a year of policy pronouncements and written statements outlined a wide-ranging agenda. It would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers.

Tens of millions of older Americans will see an increase in benefits this January when a new cost-of-living adjustment is added to Social Security payments.

With a month and a half left in the General Assembly’s spring session, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is readying its proposal to address Illinois’ chronically underfunded pension system.

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, means the average recipient will receive more than $50 more every month beginning in January, the Social Security Administration said Thursday. The AARP estimated that increase at $59 per month.

The Social Security Administration released the annual list Friday. The agency tracks baby names in each state based on applications for Social Security cards, with names dating to 1880.

The cost-of living adjustment — the largest in more than 40 years — means the average recipient will receive more than $140 extra a month beginning in January, the Social Security Administration said Thursday.