Newly elected US senators outline approaches to Social Security reform — Fortune
In the United States, newly elected senators from the Democratic and Republican parties have expressed different approaches to preserving full Social Security benefits. As Fortune reports, 17 new Senate members will join discussions on the program’s funding shortfall in the next Congress.
According to projections, the Social Security trust fund could be depleted at the end of 2032. After that, payroll tax revenue would cover about 78% of scheduled benefits. This could lead to an automatic benefit reduction of approximately 22% if Congress does not act. Senators elected to full terms in 2026 will serve until January 2033.
Changing the tax cap
Some Democrats support eliminating or raising the earnings cap subject to the Social Security tax. Currently, this tax applies to the first $184,500 of annual earnings. Juliana Stratton of Illinois, Josh Turek of Iowa, Troy Jackson of Maine, and Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan supported eliminating this limit.
James Talarico of Texas proposes eliminating the cap for people earning more than $400,000. Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota supports Senator Bernie Sanders’ Social Security Expansion Act, which would apply the tax to earnings above $250,000, gradually eliminate the cap, and increase benefits.
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According to Social Security actuaries’ estimates, fully eliminating the cap starting in 2027 without a corresponding increase in benefits for additionally taxed income could cover about 58% of the program’s projected 75-year shortfall.
Retirement age and benefits
Turek, Jackson, and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire opposed raising the age for receiving full benefits. Pappas also opposes benefit cuts and privatization of the program. Roy Cooper of North Carolina does not support benefit cuts and believes wealthy Americans should contribute more to the system, although he did not name a specific mechanism.
Republican Andy Barr of Kentucky called for leaving the rules unchanged for current retirees and seeking bipartisan solutions for younger generations, including encouraging private and employer-sponsored retirement savings. Kurt Alme of Montana proposed directing funds saved by combating waste, fraud, and abuse in other areas of government spending to Social Security.
Some politicians supported repealing the federal tax on Social Security benefits. According to an estimate by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget published in July, such a decision without replacing lost revenue would cost Social Security about $1 trillion over ten years and Medicare another $700 billion.
