Published in RINewsToday on June 22, 2026

Congress faces the urgent legislative task of ensuring the long-term viability of the nation’s Social Security program. As in previous years, the Social Security Board of Trustees’ 2026 report warns that without congressional action, the OASI and DI Trust Funds will pay full benefits only through 2034. Afterward, payroll tax revenue will cover about 83% of scheduled benefits, highlighting the need for timely Congressional intervention.

Federal law requires that trust fund-financed programs such as Social Security and Medicare pay out only as much in benefits as they receive in revenues once their trust fund reserves run out.

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), about 21% to 22% of the U.S. population currently receives Social Security benefits. The released Trustee’s report notes that at the end of 2025, Social Security paid benefits to more than 70 million Americans: 56 million retired workers and their dependents, 8 million disabled workers and their families, and 6 million survivors of deceased workers. Medicare covered an estimated 69.3 million people.

The Trustees also said that recent congressional actions, including the Social Security Fairness Act and changes to the taxation of Social Security benefits, weakened the program’s long-term financial outlook.

The Social Security Board of Trustees is the group that issues the annual report on the financial health of Social Security’s trust funds — the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance fund and the Disability Insurance fund.

It has six seats:

1.    Secretary of the Treasury — also the Managing Trustee

2.    Secretary of Labor

3.    Secretary of Health and Human Services

4.    Commissioner of Social Security

5.    Public Trustee appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate

6.    Public Trustee appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate

As of the 2026 Trustees Report, the current government-position trustees are:

·         Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee

·         Keith E. Sonderling, Acting Secretary of Labor

·         Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services

·         Frank J. Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security

The two public trustee seats are currently vacant

Demographic Changes Strain Social Security Finances

The annual Trustees Report, released on June 9, said several long-term demographic trends strain the financial stability of Social Security, as fewer workers pay payroll taxes into the program to support a growing population of beneficiaries.

Americans live longer and collect benefits for more years, while millions of Baby Boomers continue to retire. Birthrates stay below historical levels, so fewer workers enter the labor force.  Lower levels of immigration increase financial pressure by reducing the number of workers who pay payroll taxes.

The combined Social Security trust funds are currently projected to pay full benefits through 2034. However, the outlook for the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund has weakened slightly. Trustees project OASI reserves will be depleted in late 2032. At that point, revenues are expected to cover only about 78% of scheduled OASI benefits, compared to the overall 83% coverage for all Social Security benefits after combined depletion.

The Trustees Report also notes that Social Security’s disability program remains financially stable. The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund is expected to stay adequately financed throughout the 75-year projection period and pay full benefits without interruption.

Taking a Look at Medicare

Also released on June 9, the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report found that Medicare remains financially stable in the near term but faces significant long-term funding shortfalls caused by rising health care costs and an aging population.

According to the Trustees, Medicare spending will grow faster than revenues dedicated to financing the program. The health care needs of retiring Baby Boomers, growing Medicare enrollment, rising medical costs, and increased spending for services used frequently by older adults—including skilled nursing care, home health care, and hospice services—largely drive this increase.

The Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, which pays for Medicare Part A services, is projected to be depleted in the second quarter of 2033—three months earlier than last year’s prediction. After depletion, Medicare Part A would be able to cover about 89% of its costs from incoming revenue. Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility services, home health care, and hospice care.

Congress must act within the next seven years to prevent significant reductions in Medicare payments to providers. Addressing the projected shortfall before the 2033 trust fund depletion is essential to avoid an estimated 11% funding gap.

Unlike Part A, Medicare Parts B and D are not expected to face trust fund insolvency because they are financed through a combination of beneficiary premiums and general federal revenues.

Max Richtman, President & CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), says a range of proposals could help extend the solvency of Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund without reducing benefits.

Among the options, says Richtman, are raising the Medicare tax rate on earned and investment income above $400,000 from 3.8% to 5%, and closing loopholes that allow some high-income business owners to avoid Medicare taxes by structuring income in ways that escape both payroll taxes and the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). NCPSSM also supports redirecting revenue from the 3.8% NIIT—currently deposited into general federal revenues—directly to the HI Trust Fund, he says, noting that the group estimates this change could generate roughly $500 billion over 10 years.

In addition, Richtman recommends building on the prescription drug reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act by expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices, accelerating negotiations as more medications are added, and extending inflation-rebate requirements to commercial insurance plans. Savings from these measures, he says, would be credited directly to the HI Trust Fund, further strengthening Medicare’s long-term outlook.

Reactions From Advocacy Groups and Lawmakers

In a statement, AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan warned that the 2026 projections show Congress still must close a financing gap of nearly 20%, or Americans could face benefit reductions they cannot afford.

“This should be a wake-up call: Congress needs to act. Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,” she said. “They planned for retirement, followed the rules, and now Congress must keep its promise by strengthening, not cutting, Social Security,” Minter-Jordan added, urging lawmakers to work across party lines to strengthen the program.

“The Social Security Trustees Report is a clarion call for Congress to strengthen the program now before the looming depletion of the trust fund becomes a full-blown crisis,” said NCPSSM’s Richtman in a released statement.

“If Congress fails to act, the combined retirement and disability trust fund reserves will run dry in 2034, and beneficiaries will suffer an automatic 17% cut—a scenario few want to see happen. Lawmakers should not wait until the last minute when options become more limited and remedies more costly,” he said.

Richtman also argued that benefit reductions are not necessary to restore Social Security’s financial health and that beneficiaries living on fixed incomes should not bear the burden of strengthening the program.

In a statement, Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, likewise emphasized that the Trustees Report demonstrates the consequences of inaction.

“As the Trustees Report plainly states, if there is insufficient revenue, Social Security benefits will be automatically cut,” Altman said.

On June 15, 2026, House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a Louisiana radio interview that Republicans would like to address the growth of mandatory federal spending programs in future budget discussions, including Social Security. He argued that the federal budget is increasingly driven by automatic spending commitments and said that Social Security and other entitlement programs “have to be adjusted and fixed.”

Responding to Johnson’s remarks, Altman argued that some Republican proposals would move Social Security toward privatization, a characterization that supporters of those proposals dispute. She also criticized proposals that would reduce future benefits rather than increase revenues to strengthen the program.

Public opinion surveys consistently show strong bipartisan support for preserving Social Security benefits. Altman argued that proposals to reduce benefits through means testing or other changes would be unpopular with voters and called on congressional candidates to explain how they would address the program’s long-term financing challenges.

During a June 10 morning hearing of the Joint Social Security and Work & Welfare Subcommittee with Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, held in room 1100 at 100 Longworth House Office Building, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) noted that Social Security benefits have only been modified twice in 40 years, most recently in 1983, with only minor changes under his chairmanship of the House Committee on Ways and Means in 2025.

“Congress needs to get its act together to address Social Security and the insolvency that’s coming instead of poking blame at other people when it is our duty, our responsibility,” Smith said, urging bipartisan cooperation between Republicans and Democrats to reform the program. He called for the protection of vulnerable populations who depend entirely on Social Security for retirement and a dignified standard of living, particularly in the rural communities they represent.

“This latest report from the trustees is proof that Congress must step up now to protect Social Security before it’s too late. It’s only going to cost more and be more difficult to solve the longer we wait,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in a statement issued on June 10, outlining his plan to rescue Social Security by creating a sovereign wealth fund independent of the Social Security Trust Fund.

Cassidy joined Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in issuing a bipartisan statement following the release of the Trustees Report. The senators said that “Congress shouldn’t delay any longer” and urged lawmakers to begin debating and voting on proposals to strengthen Social Security’s long-term solvency.

Putting Social Security on the Ballot

The Trustees’ Report makes it very clear that Social Security and Medicare are not facing an immediate financial crisis. Both programs will continue paying benefits for years to come. However, these reports also warn Congress that delaying action will make the eventual policy solutions more difficult to achieve and potentially more disruptive.

Many Republican proposals focus on slowing future benefit growth through measures such as raising the retirement age, modifying cost-of-living adjustments, or expanding means testing, while many Democrats favor increasing revenues by requiring higher-income Americans to contribute more into the system.

Over a year ago, lawmakers introduced a major bill to rescue Social Security and Medicare. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act (S. 1690) to ensure both programs remain stable in the future. The plan raises money by closing tax loopholes for ultra-wealthy Americans, but it completely shields anyone making under $400,000 a year from paying higher taxes. Representative Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA) brought the exact same bill to the House floor at the same time.

Legislative proposals, such as Whitehouse’s, to adjust the taxable wage cap or apply payroll taxes to certain forms of investment income have also been offered as ways to ensure Social Security’s fiscal solvency.

A new voter education campaign is highlighting the financial challenges facing Social Security. Led by NCPSSM’s Richtman, the “Social Security is on the Ballot” initiative aims to build public support for legislative solutions, including Sen. Whitehouse and Rep. Boyle’s proposed Fair Share Act, to help secure funding for the program.

There are many issues competing for voters’ attention this year,” explains Richtman, “But few will have such a profound effect on your future. Voters should insist [at the ballot box] that the fundamental promise of Social Security be preserved – as the program is strengthened for the future,” he said.

This multi-faceted campaign will encompass social media, short web videos, special editions of our “You Earned This” podcast and radio show, mailings, and grass-roots engagement/activism.

For over 70 million older Americans who rely on their Social Security and Medicare benefits, the Trustees’ Reports deliver a very clear message: Congress must act sooner rather than kicking the proverbial can down the road (as it usually has). As the projected trust fund depletion dates draw closer, lawmakers will need to work across the aisle to strengthen these programs and ensure they remain financially sound for current beneficiaries and future generations.

___

For a copy of the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, go to The 2026 OASDI Trustees Report

For a copy of the 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, go to 2026 Medicare Trustees Report