Wealthy Couples Collecting $100,000+ In Social Security — Should It Be Capped?

Some of America’s wealthiest couples are now collecting $100,000 a year in Social Security benefits, a six-figure payout that a new proposal says should be capped to help keep the retirement program solvent beyond 2032.

About 1 million beneficiaries receive at least $50,000 annually — or more than $100,000 for a retired couple — representing less than 2% of the roughly 56 million people age 65 and older who get Social Security, according to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The nonpartisan think tank projects that share will grow over time because of annual cost-of-living adjustments and as more Americans reach retirement age.

The CRFB proposal would limit payments to $100,000 for couples or $50,000 for single beneficiaries. It would save as much as $190 billion over a decade and close at least 20% of the program’s solvency gap, the analysis found. The cap could be paired with other changes, such as lifting the income exemption for Social Security taxes or increasing the payroll tax, to fully close the funding shortfall.

Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the CRFB, said the program was never intended to provide such large payments to high earners.

“The wealthiest seniors are collecting from Social Security for the first time $100,000 in benefits,” Goldwein told CBS News. “This is a program that, when you go back to its founding, was a measure of protection against falling into poverty. The fact that an income support program would pay six figures is a little silly.”

The proposal calls for indexing the $100,000 threshold to inflation or wage growth so that middle- and low-income households would not be affected as benefits rise over time.

Couples reaching the six-figure level typically earned at least the current taxable maximum of $184,500 for 35 years and claimed benefits at full retirement age, now 67. A couple, both turning 67 this year and claiming at that age, would receive about $101,000 annually, or roughly $8,416 per month. By comparison, the average monthly benefit for a retired worker is $2,071.

If the Social Security trust fund becomes insolvent in 2032, all beneficiaries would face an automatic 20% cut, according to experts. Such a reduction would sharply increase poverty among older Americans, many of whom rely on the program for most or all of their income.

AARP, which represents Americans 50 and older, opposed capping benefits for the wealthy.

“Proposals that focus on capping Social Security don’t address the problem in front of Congress: ensuring every American gets every dollar they have earned,” AARP Vice President Jenn Jones said in a statement, CBS News reported. “What’s worse, ideas like this risk becoming a backdoor to broader cuts.”

A new poll from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation found that 95% of voters want lawmakers running for office this year to explain how they plan to address the program’s looming insolvency and prevent the scheduled across-the-board cut. The reduction would take effect during the term of senators elected this November.