Overview
- The latest coverage reiterates trustees’ warning that the main retirement trust fund could be depleted around 2033, which would leave only current payroll taxes to cover benefits and trigger roughly a 23% cut unless Congress acts.
- Experts in a Forbes discussion said lawmakers could blunt abrupt reductions with short‑term borrowing and a likely mix of modest tax hikes, a gradual rise in the full retirement age, and targeted trims for higher earners.
- Advisers stress that claiming at 62 can cut monthly checks by up to about 30% while waiting past full retirement age boosts payments roughly 8% per year until 70, and the higher‑earning spouse gains the most by delaying because survivor benefits follow the larger check.
- Planners urge tax‑aware sequencing by using lower‑income years before benefits start to convert traditional IRAs or 401(k)s to Roth accounts to reduce future taxable income and shrink taxes on Social Security.
- For those working before full retirement age, the Social Security earnings test withholds $1 for every $2 above $24,480 in 2026 and $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in the year you reach it, while IRA and 401(k) withdrawals do not count toward that test but can make benefits taxable.