With Social Security’s trust funds projected to run dry within the next decade, the Trump administration is weighing changes to keep the program solvent. One option under discussion is raising the retirement age, a move that could set different rules for younger generations.
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said during an appearance on “Mornings with Maria” on FOX Business Network that no ideas are off the table.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
“Remember, most people told you and me Social Security wasn’t going to be around,” he said Thursday. “And so the generations that are coming in will probably have a different set of rules than we had.”
Trustees report mixed outlook
A 2025 report from the trustees of Social Security and Medicare warns that both programs face mounting financial pressure. The findings paint a mixed picture: steady funding in some areas but looming shortfalls in others.
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance fund, which pays retirement and survivor benefits, is projected to cover full payments until 2033. After that, reserves would be depleted, and payroll taxes would only cover about 77% of scheduled benefits.
The Disability Insurance fund, by contrast, is on far firmer ground. It is expected to meet all obligations through at least 2099, a slight improvement from last year’s outlook.
Looking at the two Social Security funds together, a common measure of solvency, the combined reserves would last until 2034, one year earlier than previously reported. Once the reserves run dry, incoming revenue would pay roughly 81% of benefits. While the funds cannot legally be merged without congressional action, analysts often use the combined figure to assess overall stability.
The trustees also reported that Medicare’s Hospital Insurance fund, which covers inpatient care, is projected to run short of money by 2033. At that point, it could pay about 89% of promised benefits.
Saving money, long-term fix
During his interview, Bisignano said the effort is about saving money and will take both time and hard work to achieve.
“It needs, really, to be the trustees, which are the four of us — myself, the Treasury secretary, the labor secretary, the HHS secretary — the White House, which is completely committed to protect and preserve Social Security, and then Congress,” he said.
Several factors contributed to this year’s weaker Social Security outlook. In early 2025, Congress repealed the Windfall Elimination and Government Pension Offset rules, which had reduced benefits for millions of workers with pensions from jobs not covered by Social Security.
The Social Security Fairness Act restores and increases benefits for certain groups. The groups include teachers, firefighters, police officers in many states, some federal employees, and workers whose jobs were covered by foreign social security systems.
Trustees also assumed that today’s lower fertility rates will last longer than previously expected and lowered estimates of how much of the economy will go to worker wages.
History of lawmakers working to stabilize Social Security
For decades, Congress has stepped in with reforms when Social Security faced shortfalls. In 1939, lawmakers expanded benefits to survivors and dependents. Amendments in 1950 introduced cost-of-living increases, and in 1972 Congress added automatic inflation adjustments and other changes to shore up funding.
The most sweeping fix came in 1983, when lawmakers raised the retirement age, increased payroll taxes and extended coverage to federal workers to keep the program solvent.
