Overview
- The Social Security Board of Trustees' June 2026 report projects Old‑Age and Survivors Insurance reserves will be exhausted in 2032 and program income would then cover roughly 78% of scheduled benefits.
- News coverage of the trustees' estimate prompted online influencers to urge people to claim benefits at 62, a move experts say can create permanent losses because filing at 62 typically reduces monthly benefits by about 30%.
- For 2026 the Social Security earnings test lets people under full retirement age earn up to $24,480 before benefits are withheld and charges $1 for every $2 above that limit, a rule that can cut monthly checks to zero temporarily for working early claimers.
- Withheld benefits are credited back when a beneficiary reaches full retirement age through an upward recalculation of monthly checks, but the short‑term cash‑flow loss can be severe and permanent benefit reductions from early claiming remain unchanged.
- Lawmakers are debating fixes on Capitol Hill, including repealing the earnings test, raising payroll taxes or the taxable wage cap, and changing the full retirement age, so Congress’s choices over the next years will determine whether benefits are restored in full or reduced for some cohorts.