Raising Retirement Age To Shore Up Social Security May Be On The Table

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A range of options to shore up finances for Social Security are being considered, including the possibility of raising the retirement age, as the program edges closer to insolvency.

“I think everything’s being considered, will be considered,” Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano said on Sept. 18 on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria,” when asked directly whether raising the retirement age was on the table.

“Remember, most people told you and me Social Security wasn’t going to be around. And so the generations that are coming in will probably have a different set of rules than we had.”

Looming Shortfall

The comments come amid long-running concerns about the long-term health of the program.

Social Security’s two main trust funds—the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) funds—are projected to run out of money on a combined basis in early 2034, according to an Aug. 5 letter from the program’s chief actuary. That’s about six months earlier than previously forecast.

If trust funds are depleted in 2034, incoming payroll taxes would cover about 80 percent of scheduled benefits—declining to 72 percent by 2099—meaning automatic across-the-board cuts for tens of millions of Americans absent congressional action.

The actuary attributed the earlier depletion date partly to provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which extended tax cuts from Trump’s first term and expanded deductions for older Americans. Those changes are expected to reduce revenue from taxing Social Security benefits and add roughly $168.6 billion in costs through 2034.

Viewed separately, the OASI fund that pays retirement and survivor benefits is now projected to be exhausted by late 2032, while the DI fund remains solvent for the full 75-year forecast.

Options on the Table

Bisignano said policymakers have about eight years to decide on solutions, adding that the responsibility ultimately lies with Congress and the program’s trustees. Besides raising the retirement age, he said, there has also been discussion of lifting the cap on taxable earnings.

“That number will continue to increase also, of where the max is, and that’s another thing that people put in the equation,” he said, referring to the $176,100 wage cap in 2025. Wages above that level are currently exempt from the 6.2 percent payroll tax.

Democrats have long advocated scrapping or lifting the cap.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced legislation in 2023 that would apply the tax to earnings above $250,000 while boosting benefits for certain groups. They said the measure would extend solvency through 2096.

Republicans have favored adjustments to benefits and eligibility. A Republican Study Committee blueprint last year called for gradually raising the retirement age, tightening formulas, and limiting spousal benefits for high earners.

Some analysts, such as those at the Brookings Institution, say any lasting fix will likely require a combination of higher taxes and benefit reforms, much like the 1983 reforms that extended solvency for decades.

Waste, Fraud, Efficiency

The debate over solvency has also been fueled by concerns about program waste. On Sept. 16, the SSA’s Office of Inspector General reported that about $33 million in benefits had been improperly paid to deceased individuals in New York state between 2008 and 2023. Similar reviews in New York City last year found another $91 million in payments after death.

Officials have told The Epoch Times that efforts are underway to tighten records, close “implausibly old” beneficiary accounts, and recover overpayments. The Treasury has also clawed back more than $31 million in improper federal payments in recent months.

Separately, the administration is pushing efficiency measures, including a shift away from paper checks. Under a March executive order, most federal benefits must be delivered electronically starting Sept. 30, through direct deposit or prepaid cards. Fewer than 1 percent of beneficiaries still receive paper checks.

“Reducing paper checks has been a longstanding bipartisan goal,” Treasury Secretary Bessent said in August. “Thanks to President Trump, this will help reduce fraud and theft.”