Elizabeth Warren demands Trump clarify Social Security retirement age plans

Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Sunday demanding that his administration clarify whether it plans to raise Social Security’s retirement age, citing a pattern of comments from administration officials and congressional Republicans suggesting the change is under consideration.

The letter, co-signed by Senators Tammy Duckworth and Richard Blumenthal, asks Trump to respond by June 29. According to Warren’s letter, a two-year increase to the retirement age would translate into monthly benefit losses of $345 to $741 for the median retiree — a cut of 17 to 35% — and would hit hardest the lower-income seniors for whom Social Security constitutes a central pillar of their retirement finances.

The letter follows the Social Security Administration’s release of its 2026 trustees report, which projected that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will be exhausted in late 2032. As Quartz previously reported on the trustees report, that date is roughly a year earlier than last year’s projection, and absent congressional action, just 78% of promised retirement benefits could be paid out once the fund is exhausted.

Warren’s letter argues that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has contributed to moving the insolvency date roughly three months closer. The letter also points to comments from Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano, who said last fall that the administration was considering raising the retirement age before later walking back the remark, and from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, who in February suggested Americans work a year longer before retiring. Warren characterized Oz’s proposal as a veiled attempt to raise the retirement age.

The letter further references House Speaker Mike Johnson, who reportedly indicated earlier this month that Republicans intend to address spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in the next Congress.

Warren has raised these concerns before. She and other senators wrote to Trump in September 2025 requesting assurances that the administration would not raise the retirement age. Trump did not respond to that letter, according to the new correspondence.

The White House did not respond to CNBC‘s request for comment on Warren’s new letter. White House spokesperson Liz Huston said last week that “President Trump will always protect and strengthen Social Security.”

Legislation known as the Social Security Expansion Act — backed by Warren, Sanders, and a coalition of Senate Democrats — would fund a 75-year solvency fix through a combination of payroll tax coverage on earnings above $250,000 and a broadened net investment income tax, all without touching the retirement age, the outlet reported. Since February 2025, the measure has sat in the Senate Finance Committee without advancing.