Social Security Insolvency Fears Rejected by Trump Official
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano has pushed back against fears about the program’s future, saying that Social Security will remain in place for another nine decades even as the most recent projections warn that the trust fund could be depleted within six years.
“This is a long journey. It’s 90 years old. It’ll be around for another 90 years,” Bisignano said Monday during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
Despite Bisignano’s optimistic comments, concerns about Social Security’s finances have escalated in recent years.
The Social Security Administration’s own 2026 Trustees Report projected that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which pays retirement and survivor benefits, will only be able to pay full scheduled benefits until the fourth quarter of 2032.
After its reserves are depleted, the continuing income would only be sufficient to cover 78 percent of scheduled benefits.
Why It Matters
Social Security provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to tens of millions of Americans.
While the depletion of Social Security’s reserves does not mean the program would simply disappear or stop paying benefits, the automatic benefit cuts that would transpire could significantly hurt beneficiaries who rely on the income for their necessities.
What To Know
Bisignano made his comments ahead of the Social Security Administration’s announcement of its 2027 cost-of-living adjustment on Wednesday.
“The president has promised ‘protect and preserve’ and that’s what we’re doing,” Bisignano said on Squawk Box.
When asked whether longer lifespans could lead to an increase in the retirement age, he said : “There will always be questions, but so far we’ve done a great job for America on it.”
The 2026 Trustees Report found that the combined Social Security trust funds declined by $160 billion in 2025, ending the year with $2.56 trillion in reserves.
The Trustees also estimated a long-range actuarial deficit equivalent to 4.42 percent of taxable payroll, up from 3.82 percent in the previous year’s report.
Those findings have fueled warnings about “Social Security insolvency,” although this doesn’t mean that Social Security would cease to exist.
“I would expect nothing less from the head of the SSA than to try to alleviate concerns about insolvency as much as possible,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek.
“The most important caveat is that he is not wrong about the program itself, so from that standpoint, he is telling the truth. However, he is being slightly disingenuous about how those payouts would be received.”
The Trustees’ projections have so far predicted the following:
- OASI retirement and survivor fund: Reserves depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, with 78 percent of scheduled benefits payable from continuing income.
- Combined OASI and DI funds: Theoretical combined reserves depleted in the third quarter of 2034, with 83 percent of scheduled benefits payable.
- Disability Insurance fund: Projected to be capable of paying full scheduled benefits through at least 2100, the end of the Trustees’ projection period.
Bisignano also acknowledged the financial challenges when the Trustees Report was released in June.
“To protect the promise of Social Security, it is important for lawmakers and the Social Security Administration to work together to ensure the trust funds continue to provide financial stability now and for future generations,” he said at the time.
Trump Floats Stock Market Investment
Trump has raised another potentially significant change to Social Security’s finances: investing trust fund assets in the stock market.
“I wanted to ride with Social Security being fully invested in the stock market in the first month of my first year,” Trump said last week, according to The Hill. “Had we done that, Social Security right now would be the richest entity anywhere in the world.”
Trump said he was met with “tremendous criticism by the Democrats and some Republicans, because … they felt it was risky.”
While financial experts do anticipate that Social Security will continue to exist, what it looks like and its benefit levels could vary dramatically, said Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com.
“Think of a restaurant that’s been open for 90 years. It can survive another 90 by raising prices and shrinking portions,” Ryan told Newsweek. “Same name on the sign, but customers are getting a very different deal. Social Security could follow a similar path. Higher payroll taxes, working longer to collect full benefits, smaller checks, or some combination. None of those changes means the program disappears.”
What Happens Next
Attention will now turn to whether Congress takes action before Social Security’s retirement trust fund reaches its projected 2032 depletion date.
The latest Trustees Report makes clear that doing nothing would not eliminate Social Security. But the program would face a gap between scheduled benefits and the revenue available to pay them.
Under current projections, that means the continuing income would only be capable of paying out 78 percent of scheduled benefits when its reserves are depleted.
“I do believe several things will occur: an increase in the retirement age, fully taxable Social Security benefits for higher-income earners, a slight increase in the payroll tax, and an increase in the Social Security taxable wage base,” Thompson said.
“Social Security is not going anywhere because the people that need it are a large voting bloc.”
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas