According to the Congressional Budget Office, raising the retirement age from 67 to 69 would cut lifetime benefits by up to 13 percent for those born after 1971. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates such a move would only cover about 35 percent of the funding shortfall\u2014leaving policymakers to pursue additional steps.<\/p>\n
Some lawmakers are already taking action. Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and Brendan Boyle have introduced the\u00a0Fair Share Act, which would require Americans earning over $400,000 to pay Social Security taxes on all income above that threshold, including wages, self-employment, and investments. Currently, contributions stop once earnings exceed $160,200, allowing higher earners to pay proportionally less. Meanwhile, a bipartisan plan from Senator Bill Cassidy and Senator Tim Kaine proposes a new $1.5 trillion investment fund, separate from existing trust funds, to be invested in stocks, bonds, and other assets. Treasury would cover costs until the fund matures, with the goal of boosting long-term Social Security solvency.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2688919-how-should-social-security-reformed.png\"\/)
Public Resistance<\/p>\n
Despite pressure to act, Americans are, by and large, opposed to raising the FRA. A 2023 Quinnipiac University poll found 78 percent of adults disapproved of increasing the age from 67 to 70. Even when framed as necessary to extend Social Security\u2019s lifespan, support never rose above 30 percent.<\/p>\n
That widespread opposition makes the issue a political minefield, even as the program\u2019s finances grow more uncertain.<\/p>\n
What Are The Options?<\/p>\n
Bobbi Redell, certified financial planner and personal finance expert at BadCredit.org, told\u00a0Newsweek\u00a0the debate is often overstated.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, it is important to remember that this is not an all-or-nothing situation. It is also not new or surprising. It\u2019s math,” she told Newsweek.<\/p>\n
She added that lawmakers have multiple levers at their disposal: \u201cThey could move the needle a little bit on the retirement age. They also could raise the amount of income that is subject to social security tax, which is now taxed at $176K. They could also raise the tax rate on the highest earners. \u2026 None of these would be cheered as victories but small changes could really add up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weighing the Politics<\/p>\n
For Redell, raising the FRA is not necessarily a last-resort option. \u201cWhile it is unpopular, it has been done before and is far from a last resort. The question really will be by how much and when it will go into effect. The more warning and the more incremental, the less backlash there is likely to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also argued that raising the retirement age may be less disruptive than other fixes. \u201cRaising the retirement age, especially if it is done well ahead of time and gradually \u2026 is going to be easier to take on for most citizens than increasing taxes or cutting benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, she suggested current discussions could be designed to test the waters rather than signal immediate change: \u201cIt is possible that there is an effort to get a sense of how different levers \u2026 could be out there as a trial balloon. This is after all both a financial and a political decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Road Ahead<\/p>\n
With insolvency just under a decade away, Congress faces a narrowing window to act. Lawmakers could consider a mix of tax adjustments, changes to inflation formulas, and modest increases to the retirement age. Whether raising the FRA proves inevitable or avoidable will depend on how policymakers weigh political risks against fiscal urgency. But as the 2034 deadline approaches, the debate over whether Americans must work longer before claiming full benefits is unlikely to disappear.<\/p>\n
Read\u00a0Newsweek’s\u00a0full interview with\u00a0Bobbi Redell below<\/p>\n
Q: With the trust funds projected to run out by 2034, is raising the retirement age one of the only realistic tools left to extend solvency? What other policy options could shore up the trust funds without changing the retirement age?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take the drama down a notch. First, it is important to remember that this is not an all-or-nothing situation. It is also not new or surprising. It\u2019s math. What people may not be aware of in just reading the headlines is that the report also doesn\u2019t show that benefits would go to zero if nothing is done. In fact, there would still be enough money to cover 81% of scheduled benefits. It is about closing the gap and not as dire as needing to come up with a way to cover 100% of benefits. Think of it like a potential pay cut at a company. It would be really, really challenging to find a way to avoid it, but it is not as daunting as if the company went bankrupt and you had to come up with money to pay the entire payroll from scratch. Also keep in mind that the government doesn\u2019t have to choose just one strategy. They can choose to do a little bit of a lot of things. For example, they could move the needle a little bit on the retirement age. They also could raise the amount of income that is subject to social security tax, which is now taxed at $176K. They could also raise the tax rate on the highest earners. Social security is also indexed to inflation. The government could change the way that is calculated as well. None of these would be cheered as victories but small changes could really add up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Q: Raising the retirement age is often politically unpopular. Do you think Congress will view it as inevitable, or is it still a last-resort option?<\/p>\n
While it is unpopular, it has been done before and is far from a last resort. The question really will be by how much and when it will go into effect. The more warning and the more incremental, the less backlash there is likely to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Q: Is raising the retirement age politically more feasible than increasing taxes or cutting benefits outright?<\/p>\n
Raising the retirement age, especially if it is done well ahead of time and gradually for those coming up in retirement, is going to be easier to take on for most citizens than increasing taxes or cutting benefits. In fact, cutting benefits could create a huge backlash from those who are counting on very specific payments in their retirement years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Q: Does floating the idea of raising the FRA now reflect a genuine shift in policy direction, or is it possibly a trial to gauge public reaction? <\/p>\n
It is possible that there is an effort to get a sense of how different levers to manage the social security shortfall would be something that could be out there as a trial balloon. This is, after all, both a financial and a political decision, and so the decision makers want to tread carefully with this important challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Social Security is facing questions about its long-term future, with the program\u2019s trust funds projected to be depleted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1096,28,1340,147,530,110570,1666,733],"class_list":{"0":"post-189201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-benefits","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-congress","11":"tag-personal-finance","12":"tag-personalfinance","13":"tag-project-alchemy","14":"tag-retirement","15":"tag-social-security"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}