Social Security is facing a big challenge. If nothing changes by 2035, the program can only pay about 83% of benefits. That means retirees could get smaller checks unless Congress fixes the problem.
A new law the Social Security Fairness Act could make the situation even trickier. This law increases benefits for some workers, but it also moves the funding shortage date up by six months.
A recent survey asked more than 2,200 Americans how they would like to solve this issue. Most people rely on Social Security for their retirement so finding the right solution is important to them.
What Do Americans Want?
The survey showed that most people about 85% want benefits to stay the same or even increase. They are even willing to pay higher taxes to make that happen. Only 15% of people said they would rather see benefits reduced instead of paying more taxes.
Preferred Solutions
The survey gave participants different options and asked which ones they would support. The most popular choices were:
Removing the Payroll Tax Cap
Right now workers pay Social Security taxes only on earnings up to $176,100. The change would make people earning more than $400,000 start paying into Social Security again. However, they wouldn’t get additional benefits in return.
Raising Payroll Taxes
Currently, workers and employers each pay 6.2% of wages into Social Security. The proposal would raise that to 7.2% to bring in more funds.
Better Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)
Many retirees feel the current COLA increases don’t reflect their real expenses. A new system would make adjustments based on the actual spending habits of older Americans.
Caregiver Credits
People who leave their jobs to care for young children under six would get Social Security credits. This would prevent them from losing out on benefits when they retire.
Bridge Benefit for Physically Demanding Jobs
Some workers in physically tough jobs need to retire early. A bridge benefit would help soften the financial impact of early retirement.
Least Popular Change
One option that didn’t get much support was reducing benefits for high-income retirees. This would mean people earning over $60,000 per year (excluding Social Security) and couples earning over $120,000 would see their benefits cut. Many people didn’t like this idea as they felt they had paid into the system and should receive what they were promised.
How These Changes Could Help
If all these changes were made, Social Security would not only close its funding gap but even end up with a small surplus of 1%. That would help keep the program stable for future generations.
| Proposed Change | Impact on Social Security |
| Remove payroll tax cap | Increases funding from high earners |
| Raise payroll tax rate | Brings in more money from all workers |
| Better COLA adjustments | Helps retirees keep up with inflation |
| Caregiver credits | Supports parents who leave work temporarily |
| Bridge benefit | Helps early retirees in tough jobs |
Interestingly, some ideas that have been discussed before like raising the retirement age or changing how benefits are taxed were not chosen by most survey respondents.
FAQs
Will Social Security really run out of money?
No, but without changes, it may only be able to pay 83% of benefits by 2035.
What happens if nothing is done?
Retirees could see smaller Social Security checks in the future.
Will these changes affect current retirees?
Most proposals aim to strengthen Social Security without reducing current benefits.