Just in case someone imagines that the most vulnerable will not be harmed by this republican administration, this morning’s message from a Massachusetts housing advocate: 

“If your family member is on SSI, log in (if you are their rep payee), or have them log in, to the Social Security portal. Many people are reporting that the portal is now listing their family member as ‘not receiving payments.’ This happened to me last night.”

SSI provides monthly payments to people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income or resources. SSI pays benefits a month behind, so people receiving checks today for February. The new notice of ‘not receiving payments’ will effect the payment on May 1. Families have a month to scramble and figure out what is happening. 

I did a quick google search of major news outlets and no one, not one left or right is reporting anything. 

A Few hours later, this came in from the Arc of Massachusetts:

Dear Members of The Arc Community, Last night, The Arc of Massachusetts learned that there is a new, concerning message appearing on Social Security accounts that are managed by a representative payee (rep payee). We have seen dozens of reports of individuals logging on to the Social Security Administration (SSA) website to the following notification: “This beneficiary is currently not receiving payments.” We understand this is an area of incredible concern for individuals and families in our community. As such, we are communicating with our Massachusetts congressional delegation and leadership at The Arc of the United States in order to determine answers as to what is occurring here. If you are experiencing this issue, or any other federal-related problem, please fill out our Community Check-In Survey so that we can keep track of these issues as they arise. Stay tuned for more information as we monitor this situation.