By the Numbers: Retirees in the red

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Lawmakers are running out of time to fix Social Security’s funding shortfall

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2032

The year Social Security payouts will exceed payroll taxes, triggering an automatic reduction of benefits unless Congress reforms the law, according to the 2026 Social Security Trustees annual report. Most Americans expect to get Social Security when they retire. More than half say they aren’t saving anything else for when they stop working.

77%

The share of respondents to a Cato Institute survey opposed to a $1,300 payroll tax increase. According to the libertarian think tank, even that wouldn’t fully close the funding gap. The same share of respondents opposed benefits cuts to save the program.

71 million

The number of Americans who received benefits from the Social Security program in 2026.

2.9 to 1

The ratio of workers paying into the program in 2025 versus beneficiaries. In 1960, the ratio was 5.1 to 1.

Politics