Apr 1, 2025
President Donald Trump has tasked Elon Musk and DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) with finding waste in government programs, including entitlement programs like Social Security.
This effort to root out waste may have some people wondering if wealthy older Americans like Trump are collecting Social Security benefits — or if being a president disqualifies him.
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Trump certainly isn’t among the 58% of seniors in 2024 Gallup poll who said Social Security was a major source of their income.
Well, to satisfy the curious, not only does Trump not need Social Security benefits, he hasn’t filed for them — as his tax records reveal.
Has Trump claimed Social Security benefits?
In 2022, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to release Trump’s tax records from 2015 to 2020. His filings reveal that he hasn’t claimed Social Security benefits.
However, the President is within his rights to claim them. Wealth or political status does not disqualify Trump or any American from collecting Social Security benefits.
In fact, former President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden both receive Social Security checks. According to their 2023 tax returns, Joe Biden received $42,482 in benefits and his wife took home $21,412. It’s most likely that Dr. Biden is on spousal benefits.
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Why wealthy people might pass on Social Security
While wealthy and high-profile individuals are free to claim Social Security, there is a maximum benefit they can receive.
Currently Social Security benefits max out at $4,018 a month for those who claim them at full retirement age — and $5,108 for those who wait till they’re 70.
These top-tier benefits are based on annual earnings of $176,100. Making more than that won’t increase your benefits.
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But there may be a bigger disincentive to filing for Social Security: taxes. There’s an 85% tax rate on benefits for a single filer with more than $34,000 in provisional income or couples filing jointly with more than $44,000 in provisional income.
Your provisional income is your adjusted gross income (AGI), half of your Social Security benefits, plus non-taxable interest.
In the case of the Bidens, that means $36,109.70 of their benefits would be taxed.
Who does benefit from the monthly checks
Trump may not need Social Security benefits, but more than 16.3 million Americans aged 65 and older have been lifted out of poverty because of them.
Most Americans will not qualify for $5,108 benefit checks, but do receive an average $1,976 each month, supplementing what they’ve set aside on their own for retirement.
If you’re not among the mega-wealthy, be sure to factor Social Security benefits into your own retirement planning, and talk to a financial adviser about the best timing to claim them based on your unique circumstances.
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Sarah Li-Cain, AFC is a finance and small business writer with over a decade of experience.
