{"id":466011,"date":"2026-02-13T09:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/466011\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T09:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:52:11","slug":"trump-2026-social-security-changes-to-expect-in-trumps-second-year-of-his-second-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/466011\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump 2026: Social Security Changes To Expect in Trump\u2019s Second Year of His Second Term"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Glowimages<\/p>\n

Glowimages \/ Getty Images\/Glowimages RF<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump made bold promises about Social Security during his 2024 campaign, pledging to eliminate federal taxes on benefits and protect the program from cuts. As 2026 unfolds, millions of retirees are discovering which promises have materialized and what changes are actually taking effect.<\/p>\n

The COLA Increase: 2.8% Boost for 75 Million Americans<\/p>\n

The most concrete change hitting in 2026 is the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Social Security benefits<\/a> and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for 75 million Americans will increase by 2.8%, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).<\/p>\n

For the average retired worker, the 2.8% COLA translates to about $56 more per month, raising the average payment from $2,015 to $2,071. However, rising Medicare Part B premiums will eat into those gains. The standard Part B premium jumped to $202.90 per month in 2026, a $17.90 increase deducted directly from most Social Security checks, according to CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Check Out: What Is the Highest Social Security Check per Month?<\/a><\/p>\n

Read Next: 6 Safe Accounts Proven To Grow Your Money Up To 13x Faster<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Tax Promise: Partially Kept<\/p>\n

During his campaign, Trump pledged, \u201cSeniors should not pay taxes on Social Security, and they won\u2019t.\u201d The reality in 2026 is more nuanced.<\/p>\n

Trump did not eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits directly. Instead, his \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill Act\u201d introduced a temporary $6,000 standard deduction increase for seniors through 2028. This helps many seniors avoid taxes on their benefits, but around 40% of Social Security recipients still pay federal income tax depending on their income levels.<\/p>\n

Critics warn that fully eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits would accelerate the program\u2019s insolvency, potentially causing benefit cuts of 33% by 2030.<\/p>\n

No Changes to Full Retirement Age<\/p>\n

Trump promised not to raise the full retirement age, and he\u2019s kept that commitment. For those born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age remains 67. However, lawmakers may eventually need to push it to 68 or 69 for younger workers to shore up Social Security\u2019s finances, as trust funds face depletion by 2034.<\/p>\n

The Oil and Gas Proposal: Going Nowhere<\/p>\n

Trump suggested using U.S. oil and gas revenue to bolster Social Security, telling Fox News in 2023, \u201cWe have such incredible wealth under our feet, that that takes care of everything.\u201d The administration hasn\u2019t advanced any such proposals, making it unlikely Social Security\u2019s financial forecast will improve in 2026.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/p>\n

Trump has technically kept his core promises: no benefit cuts and no changes to the full retirement age in 2026. However, he hasn\u2019t taken meaningful steps to prevent the looming insolvency crisis, with trust funds projected to run dry by 2034.<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: Trump 2026: Social Security Changes To Expect in Trump\u2019s Second Year of His Second Term<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Glowimages \/ Getty Images\/Glowimages RF President Donald Trump made bold promises about Social Security during his 2024 campaign,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[35750,28,12,1748,147,530,733,1552,29347],"class_list":{"0":"post-466011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-benefit-cuts","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-donald-trump","11":"tag-federal-taxes","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance","14":"tag-social-security","15":"tag-social-security-administration","16":"tag-supplemental-security-income"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466011","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=466011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}