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SSA Trustees Report Calls on Congress to Fix Social Security and Medicare

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.

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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

Report: Congress Warned to Shore Up Social Security Reserves

Published in the Woonsocket Call on April 26, 2020

Each year, starting in 1941, the Social Security Board of Trustees has presented a required report on the financial status of the program to the Congress. Now amidst the world-wide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic forcing the shuttering of the nation’s businesses triggering the worst economic downslide since the 1930s Great Depression, the Social Security Board of Trustees releases its 276-page 2020 annual with a warning that Social Security could deplete its trust funds reserves by 2035, if Congress does not act to increase the trust fund reserves. However, because of payroll taxes, revenue to the program would ensure that at least 79 percent of benefits would be paid after 2035 if Congress fails to address solvency.

During the last five weeks, about 24 million Americans have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 Pandemic. With fewer people paying payroll taxes, this will further reduce revenue to Social Security, the impact depending upon how length and severity of the economic downturn. During the pandemic, the number of Americans who pass away, become disabled or survivors will also affect the actuarial accounting of the trust fund’s finances.

“The projections in this year’s report do not reflect the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Social Security program. Given the uncertainty associated with these impacts, the Trustees believe it is not possible to adjust estimates accurately at this time,” said Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security. “The duration and severity of the pandemic will affect the estimates presented in this year’s report and the financial status of the program, particularly in the short term.” says Saul.

“Today’s report confirms that Social Security’s financing is strong in the near term, but it will not have enough to pay 100 percent of promised benefits in long term. The report underscores why it is so important that Congress take action now to prevent a 21 percent cut from occurring in 2035, by ensuring Social Security is fully funded and strengthened for today’s seniors and future generations, who will need it even more,” said Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT), House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee in a statement.

“As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, Social Security’s role is even more important than ever. During this volatile time of economic uncertainty, Social Security remains the one constant that all current and future beneficiaries can count on. It has never missed a payment. That’s why we must act now to expand and enhance Social Security with the Social Security 2100 Act,” states Larson. “His legislation will ensure Social Security remains solvent for the next 75 plus years, while expanding benefits. Moreover, the expansion of Social Security’s steady monthly payments would be an automatic boost to the economy,” he adds.

Gauging the Financial Health of Social Security

According to the Washington, DC-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), at the end of 2019, about 64 million people were receiving benefits: 48.2 million retired workers and their dependents; 6 million survivors of deceased workers; and 9.9 million disabled workers and their dependents. About 178 million workers had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes in 2019.

By 2035, (which is the same as last year’s estimate) when today’s 51-year-olds reach the retirement age and today’s youngest retirees turn 78, retirees will face a 21-percent across-the board benefits cut (that could grow to 25 percent over time) if Congress does not make significant changes to revenue, benefits, or both to shore up the depleted trust fund.

This year’s report announces that Social Security has an accumulated surplus of approximately $2.9 trillion. It projects that, even if Congress took no action whatsoever, Social Security not only can pay all benefits and associated administrative costs until 2035, it is 91 percent funded for the next quarter century, 85 percent for the next half century, and 82 percent for the next three quarters of a century. At the end of the century, in 2095, Social Security is projected to cost just 5.86 percent of gross domestic product.

The newly released Trustees report notes that the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund, which pays disability benefits, will be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2065, 13 years later than in last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing tax income will be sufficient to pay 92 percent of scheduled benefits.

As to the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, which pays Medicare Part A inpatient hospital expenses, the Trustee’s report says that this program will be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2026, the same as reported last year. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing total program income will be sufficient to pay 90 percent of total scheduled benefits.

Finally, the Trustee’s report noted that the Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund, consisting of Part B, which pays for physician and outpatient services, and Part D, which covers prescription drug benefits, is adequately financed into the indefinite future because current law provides financing from general revenues and beneficiary premiums each year to meet the next year’s expected costs. Due to these funding provisions, the rapid growth of SMI costs will place steadily increasing demands on both taxpayers and beneficiaries, says the Trustee’s report.

Social Security Advocates Weigh in

“Medicare and Social Security are more crucial than ever as Americans face the one-two punch of the coronavirus’s health and economic consequences, says AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins in a statement following the release of the Trustees report, noting that the security provided by Social Security’s guaranteed benefits and Medicare’s health coverage is indispensable.

“Today’s reports show that both programs remain strong. However, it is crucial for Congress to come together in a bipartisan way to address the long-term funding challenges to ensure individuals will get the benefits they have earned. One way to protect Medicare is to lower the cost of health care and prescription drug prices, suggests Jenkins.

“Social Security is strong. But its long-term fiscal health cannot be guaranteed if the White House and Congress continue to use the program’s financing structure for economic stimulus during the COVID-19 crisis,” says Max Richtman, NCPSSM’s President and CEO. “Those who would like to dismantle Social Security are using the pandemic to launch a stealth attack. A broad-based payroll tax cut, as the President has proposed, would interfere with Social Security’s traditional revenue stream while failing to deliver effective or equitable stimulus,” he warns.

According to Richtman, Social Security already provides more than $1.6 trillion in annual economic stimulus as seniors spend their benefits for essential goods and services in their communities. “Now is not the time – in fact, it is never the time – to tamper with a program that more than 40% of retirees rely upon for all of their income,” he says.

Richtman notes that the Trustees estimate that the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2021 will be 2.3 percent. However, that projection does not reflect the impact of the pandemic on inflation, and the actual COLA for next year could be lower, he says.

“We do not know the extent of the pandemic’s impact on Social Security, but we do know that seniors need a boost in their benefits. Let’s strengthen the program now by eliminating the payroll tax wage cap and demanding the wealthy pay their fair share. That way, we can expand benefits and adopt a more accurate cost-of-living inflation formula for seniors,” suggests Richtman.

As for Medicare, says Richtman, the program’s financial future is relatively unchanged from last year’s report, but the impact of the pandemic is not reflected. “The Medicare Part A Trust Fund will become exhausted by 2026, after which the program still could pay 90 percent of benefits, if Congress does nothing to strengthen Medicare’s finances,” he adds.

Adds Richtman, the Trustees estimate that the Medicare Part B premium will rise to $153.30 per month in 2021, an $8.70 increase over last years.

Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works and the Chair of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition, agrees with Jenkins and Richtman that the Trustee’s report shows Social Security will remain strong through the rest of the 21st century and beyond, notwithstanding current circumstances. “Though the exact impact of today’s pandemic and economic conditions will not be clear until next year’s report, Social Security’s strength will shine through next year, as well. Social Security is built to withstand today’s events,” says Altman.

Altman believes that Social Security is a solution and the program continues to pay benefits automatically on time, especially with retiree’s 401(k)s taking a hit because of the pandemic crisis. “It is past time to increase Social Security’s modest but vital benefits, while requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share,” she says.

Stimulating the Economy by Slashing Payroll Taxes

Congress has passed payroll tax cuts –in 2011 and 2012 – in an attempt to stimulate the economy during a downturn. The recently enacted $2.2 trillion economic stimulus legislation passed last month, called the CARES Act, does allow for employers to defer their payroll tax payments but does not actually cut the levies, which are used to fund Medicare and Social Security.

Now GOP lawmakers led by President Donald Trump are using the virus pandemic as an excuse to slash payroll contributions, Social Security’s dedicated funding. Cutting the Social Security payroll taxes would reduce the amount of money withheld from employee paychecks, increasing their take-home pay.

Using a payroll tax cut to provide a financial stimulus in an effort to forestall a recession caused by COVID-19 pandemic “undermines the earned benefit nature of the program,” warns Dan Adcock, NCPSSM’s Director of Government Relations & Policy.

“Social Security is an earned benefit fully funded by the contributions of workers throughout their working lives. A payroll tax cut suspension or deferral chips away at that fundamental idea, making it easier each time it is enacted to turn to it again to meet some future crisis, until the payroll tax is not just cut but is eliminated, undermining the program in this manner would help achieve the goals of opponents of Social Security including those who would privatize the program,” says Adcock.

Adcock says that NCPSSM opposes a Congressional effort to alter the payroll tax that reduces revenue flowing into the Social Security trust fund or undermines the “earned right” nature of the benefit. “We support the enactment of tax incentives – other than cutting, suspending or deferring the Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes – to encourage employers to keep their workers during this emergency,” he says.

Congressional lawmakers can extend the long-term solvency of the Social Security while improving earned benefits through passing legislation like Congressman John Larson’s H.R. 860, the Social Security 2100 Act, says Adcock. At press time, the House bill has over 208 cosponsors and its Social Security Subcommittee has held several hearings on the bill.

Several other bills to protect and expand Social Security benefits have also been introduced in both House and Senate chambers The presumptive Democratic nominee for President, former Vice President Joe Biden, has endorsed a Senate proposal sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) that would provide all Social Security beneficiaries with an extra $200/month during the coronavirus health crisis.

As to Medicare, lawmakers can take action to cut beneficiaries’ out of pocket costs and boost Medicare’s fiscal health by passing H.R. 3, The Lower Drug Costs Now Act — which would save the program some $400 billion in projected prescription drug costs by allowing the government to negotiate prices directly with Big Pharma.

Simply put, one sure method of ensuring the financial viability of Social Security is to require millionaires to pay their fair share of payroll taxes by removing or increasing the current income cap on payroll taxes, suggests Adcock.

Shoreing Up Social Security

With over 90 days until the upcoming 2020 Presidential elections, seniors might reach out to those running for Congress and the White House and call for the strengthening and expansion of Social Security. It’s time to protect the viability of the program for those currently receiving benefits and for the younger generations who follow.

View the 2020 Trustees Report at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/TR/2020/.

View an infographic about the program’s long-term financial outlook at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/social-security-long-term-financial-outlook.html

Herb Weiss, LRI’12, is a Pawtucket writer covering aging, healthcare and medical issues. To purchase Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly, a collection of 79 of his weekly commentaries, go to herbweiss.com.