Key facts
- Social Security is projected to collect $2 trillion but spend $2.4 trillion in 2033, the report said.
- A worker earning $1 million is taxed only on the first $184,500 of income under current rules, the report said.
- Many Democrats in competitive races favored lifting the payroll-tax cap on high earners, the report said.
- Many Republicans stressed protecting current beneficiaries, cutting fraud, or establishing bipartisan commissions, per the report.
- Some proposals would raise the normal retirement age to 69 and the delayed retirement age to 72, the report said.
The incoming Senate will include 35 members elected in the midterms, and those senators will be responsible for addressing Social Security's funding shortfall, according to the report. Social Security is projected to run out of reserves by 2032, which the report says would cut benefits by roughly 22%. For a typical dual-income couple who recently retired, that could mean almost $17,000 in lost income each year beginning in 2033.
Social Security spends more on benefits to over 75 million people than it collects in tax revenue, the report said. It is projected to collect $2 trillion but spend $2.4 trillion in 2033 as the US population ages. Aging advocates and Social Security researchers have called on Congress to act sooner rather than later, the report said.
Many Democrats in competitive races favored lifting the payroll-tax cap on high earners, while many Republicans stressed protecting current beneficiaries, cutting fraud, or establishing bipartisan commissions without endorsing a specific solvency plan, according to the report. A worker earning $1 million is taxed only on the first $184,500, the report said. Lifting the cap would raise substantial new revenue but Social Security would still operate at a deficit, the report said.
Among the winning candidates, Sherrod Brown of Ohio would raise the payroll-tax cap and opposes privatization, the report said. Troy Jackson of Maine would remove the wage cap, and Josh Stein of North Carolina would end taxes on Social Security benefits, according to the report. Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan would lift the payroll-tax cap, and James Talarico of Texas would eliminate the tax cap for people earning over $400,000, the report said.