Social Security, IRS Leader Bisignano Panned After Fiserv Stock Tanks
Last week, financial services technology company Fiserv’s stock fell by over 40%—erasing $30 billion in market value—after current CEO Mike Lyons said former CEO Frank Bisignano—now the Trump-appointed Social Security Commissioner and CEO of the Internal Revenue Service—had made major missteps as Fiserv CEO.
On October 29, Fiserv released disappointing Q3 earnings and also cut its financial outlook. Lyons revealed that its prior forecasts made when Bisignano was leading Fiserv from 2020 until earlier this year were based on “incremental assumptions embedded in our guidance, including outsized business volume growth, record sales activity and broad-based productivity improvements, all of which would have been objectively difficult to achieve even with the right investment and strong execution.”
Following this news, Fiserv stock dropped more than 43% on the same day. Fiserv stock was at $126.17 as of Oct. 28, before falling to $65.19 by Oct. 30 after Lyons’ comments. It stood at $64.00 at close of trading Wednesday.
Lyons said Bisignano made “decisions to defer certain investments and cut certain costs [which] improved margins in the short term but are now limiting our ability to serve clients in a world-class way, execute product launches to our standards and grow revenue to our full potential.”
Shareholder advocate law firm Hagen Berman filed a securities fraud class action styled Cypanga Sicav SIF v. Fiserv, Inc., et al., in the wake of the stock crash. “One analyst reportedly labeled the results as ‘abysmal,’ another reportedly remarked that the magnitude of the earnings miss and guidance cut was ‘difficult to comprehend,’ and still another reportedly commented that Fiserv’s results ‘were not even ballpark close to Street,’ a Nov. 5 press release announcing the suit stated.
The Fiserv news led to a call from Social Security Works President Nancy Altman for Bisignano to immediately “resign or be fired,” before adding that, “Unfortunately, that won’t happen.”
Altman noted in her statement that Bisignano is now also facing a lawsuit from investors, including a police pension fund that lost $1.67 million on a decline in Fiserv shares the statement claimed were due to Bisignano artificially inflating growth numbers.
“When Bisignano joined the Trump administration, he sold all of his Fiserv stock, getting a big tax break in the process. That sale saved him $300 million (and counting) in stock value,” Altman continued. “Did Bisignano know that Fiserv’s stock was about to tank, and ask his friend Donald Trump for a life raft?”
As part of his transition to government work, Bisignano was required to offload Fiserv stock. Bloomberg reported that Bisignano sold roughly $530 million in Fiserv shares, which, if held Oct. 30, would have been worth just $229 million.
The Social Security Administration did not respond to a request for comment on the issue from 401(k) Specialist.
In the SSW statement, Altman lamented that Bisignano is in charge of Social Security benefits as well as tax collection, “despite his total lack of expertise, or even basic knowledge, of either.”
She said the Justice Department and Congress should launch immediate investigations. “Unfortunately, neither body has shown any willingness to hold Donald Trump or his nominees accountable,” Altman said. “The only recourse is for Democrats to win control of Congress and make investigating Bisignano a top priority.”
The controversy comes at a time when the retirement industry is still awaiting official word on 2026 retirement plan contribution limits from the IRS, now under Bisignano’s guidance as CEO in addition to his SSA commissioner duties. While the 2025 limits were released on Nov. 1, 2024, the IRS has not provided guidance on when the official 2026 limits will be announced as the government shutdown—impacting staffing at the IRS—has now become the longest in U.S. history.
Update: Wyden, Warren request info from Fiserv
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the top Democrats on the Senate Finance and Banking committees, initiated a probe of Bisignano’s transition from the financial industry to government on Thursday, following the recent news about the company’s underperformance and its procurement of a federal contract under questionable circumstances.
In a Nov. 6 letter to current Fiserv CEO Lyons, Wyden and Warren requested information about the circumstances that led to Fiserv’s issuance of overly rosy revenue projections and the subsequent decision to reevaluate those goals.
“This drastic reversal raises significant questions regarding Mr. Bisignano’s conduct. At a minimum, Mr. Bisignano appears to have failed to manage Fiserv effectively, and may have misled investors and the public about the company’s financial status, raising concerns about his ability to serve as a key Social Security and IRS official in the Trump Administration,” Wyden and Warren wrote.
The letter also requested information regarding the recent award of the financial agency agreement to administer Direct Express, the federal government’s debit card program for federal beneficiaries who lack a traditional bank account, to Fiserv and Fifth Third Bank. That contract was set to go to Bank of New York-Mellon last fall, but the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Service re-awarded it in September.
The letter asks Lyons to provide the requested information as soon as possible, but no later than Nov. 20, 2025.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated Nov. 7, to include new information included in the final section.
SEE ALSO:
• CEO of IRS Title Added to Social Security Commissioner Bisignano’s Plate
• Senate Confirms Bisignano to Lead Social Security in Party Line Vote
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
