By John I. Adams, TSCL Chairman
The overwhelming majority of seniors already know that Social Security will reach insolvency in the next few years if Congress fails to act because the program pays out more in benefits than it brings in through taxes. Although the Social Security Administration (SSA) had predicted this date would come in 2033 as recently as last year, the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office has advanced that projection to 2032.
Without Congressional action, seniors and other Social Security beneficiaries, such as disabled people, would face an automatic benefits cut of 23 percent. Social Security would only pay out benefits paid by taxes as they came in, unable to make up the difference out of reserves in its trust fund.
What Would Happen to Seniors If Social Security Had to Cut Benefits?
Let me be honest with you: Things would get bad. When told about Social Security’s looming insolvency, 83 percent of respondents to TSCL’s 2025 Retirement Survey (available for free at this link!) said they were very or extremely concerned about it. More than half said they would have trouble paying monthly bills, buying food and groceries, or skip or delay medical care and prescriptions to get by if cuts came to fruition.
Why Is It Important for Congress to Act Sooner Rather Than Later?
The mere possibility of these consequences will likely motivate Congress to act before the deadline—faced with similar crises in 1977 and 1983, it got its act together just in time—but in today’s environment, the bipartisan compromises that saved us from these earlier crises are harder and harder to reach. Waiting to act also increases the risk that Congress rushes to a solution to fix the short-term problem without strengthening the program’s finances for the next generation.
It comes as no surprise that two in three of the 2025 Retirement Survey’s participants think Congress won’t get the job done in time. Negotiations to fix the program could take a while, and seniors like us can’t afford a lapse in benefits while our representatives play politics.
How Can You Get Involved?
If you care about this issue, please sign our Petition to Congress to Protect Social Security from Cuts at this webpage. Petitions like this (here’s a link to all our active ones) are an essential part of TSCL’s advocacy, helping us secure policy wins for you.
Petitions played an important role in work with Congress to pass the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, which restored benefits to millions of firefighters, police, and teachers in 2024. Even though some members of Congress fought us tooth and nail, we got it done. And now it’s more important than ever that we do it again before the doomsday clock on millions of people’s happy retirements clicks to zero in 2032.