[hammock]

The submitted title is editorialized. The article headline goes “…, report says”

There is a whistleblower report that says one thing and the SSA official that says another thing.

Regardless of which you believe, the HN title is questionable.

[SpicyLemonZest]

It's beyond credulous to give the benefit of the doubt to a spokesperson who responds to questions about a whistleblower report by complaining that the reporter is “desperate for clicks and eager to publish fake news to scare seniors." They're obviously lying, trustworthy sources do not talk this way.