Musk now has access to the US Treasury payment system, which handles Social Security checks. Will your check be on time? Will your data be safe?
Elon Musk isn’t just the world’s richest person. He’s also a man who may now have access to every single taxpayer’s personal financial data.
On Jan. 31, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), including Musk, access to the U.S. Treasury’s federal payment system. This system disburses trillions of dollars each year for programs that include Social Security and Medicare. It’s unclear what happens next.
With this move, Musk has effectively gained access to the federal government’s checkbook. As a result, Musk, tasked with cutting wasteful spending, has attained a level of control that many find unsettling.
The decision to grant Musk access to the Treasury’s payment system was not without controversy either. Last week, David Lebryk, a top Treasury official who worked there for decades, was ousted after aiming to block Musk’s access. He was initially put on leave and subsequently announced his retirement.
Democrats push back
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) questioned the decision to grant Musk access to the federal payment system. In a Jan. 31 letter, he stated, “I can think of no good reason why political operators who have demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law would need access to these sensitive, mission-critical systems.”
Wyden also expressed concern that the mismanagement of the federal payment system could threaten the full faith and credit of the U.S., a concern echoed in a February 2 letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. -Mass) to the new Treasury secretary. Wyden noted that Musk was not only denied high-level security clearance but that his business dealings overseas could put the U.S. at greater risk of a cybersecurity attack.
When asked about Musk’s control of the U.S. Treasury payment system, President Donald Trump said, “We’ll give him the approval when appropriate; where not appropriate, we won’t.”
Americans have questions
Last week, the White House was blocked from freezing federal grants and loans. Now, the concern shifts to other government programs Musk may or may not have the power to control. Here are a couple of the more pressing questions consumers will likely have.
Will you get your Social Security check on time?
Millions of Americans depend on Social Security’s regular payments, which are processed through the Treasury payment system. There’s no reason to believe your next Social Security check will be late due to the change in management. However, there is little information about how DOGE intends to run the Treasury system.
There’s also no indication that Musk’s team will stop your Social Security check. According to The New York Times, Musk intends to focus cost-cutting efforts on blocking improper payments across government agencies rather than stopping individual checks.
Democrats vowed to protect Social Security and other payments with a bill. “We must protect people’s Social Security payments, their Medicare payments, tax refunds, from any possible tampering by DOGE or any other unauthorized entities,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY.) said at a press conference on Monday.
Of course, the most significant risk to Social Security is its funding shortfall, as older Americans retire in droves and the program’s trust funds dwindle. There are no easy fixes. Potential solutions — including benefit cuts, raising the retirement age and tax increases — are politically difficult to enact. However, President Trump has statedthat he will not touch Social Security.
That said, the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General found that between fiscal years 2015 and 2022, the agency lost almost $72 billion to improper payments, most of which were overpayments. Getting overpayments returned to Social Security fits within Musk’s stated goal of blocking improper payments, though it would have only a marginal effect on the Social Security funding shortfall.
Is your personal data safe?
In theory, Musk and his team now have access to every American’s Social Security number and, in many cases, their banking information. However, the team is still bound by the law, which means any attempt to use that information for commercial or other purposes would likely result in legal challenges from Congress.
What’s less clear is that this new, unidentified team will protect Americans’ data security.
Unfortunately, identity theft is rampant, and Americans need assurances that government data is secure. Musk has been criticized for poor privacy and security decisions at some of his companies. For example, Tesla, has a spotty record when protecting user data.
Musk has floated the idea of using blockchain technology to track government payments and, ideally, to improve efficiency. Blockchain helps make payments more transparent and immutable, offering real benefits for tracking transactions. Some municipalities within the U.S. have piloted blockchain initiatives. However, this technology is still relatively young, and it’s hard to know what kind of privacy issuesmight arise from its use in tracking the largest payment system in the world.
Whether you’re a fan or a detractor of Elon Musk, ultimately, he is a private citizen who’s been handed the key to an unfathomably large vault. We are in uncharted territory.
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Maurie Backman is a freelance contributor to Kiplinger. She has over a decade of experience writing about financial topics, including retirement, investing, Social Security, and real estate. She has written for USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and Bankrate. She studied creative writing and finance at Binghamton University and merged the two disciplines to help empower consumers to make smart financial planning decisions.
