Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is pressing President Donald Trump to clarify whether his administration is considering raising the Social Security retirement age as the program's funding deadline draws closer.
In a letter sent Sunday, Warren cited the latest Social Security Trustees Report, which projects the retirement trust fund will be depleted in late 2032. If Congress takes no action, incoming payroll tax revenue would be enough to pay only 78% of scheduled retirement benefits.
"Republicans have a history of attempting to increase the retirement age, privatize Social Security, or otherwise cut Social Security benefits," Warren wrote, warning that some Republicans have floated raising the retirement age or means-testing benefits as potential solutions.
Benefit Cut Warning
Warren argued that raising the retirement age would effectively reduce benefits for millions of Americans.
Social Security's full retirement age is currently 67 for people born in 1960 or later. Raising that threshold would force workers to wait longer to receive full benefits, while those claiming earlier would face steeper reductions.
According to Warren, increasing the retirement age by two years could reduce median monthly retirement benefits by $345 to $741, or roughly 17% to 35%.
However, White House spokesperson Liz Huston told CNBC that "President Trump will always protect and strengthen Social Security."
Warren's letter also comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) reportedly told a Louisiana radio station that he plans to push forward next year with efforts to address spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Warren's letter.
Fix Gets Political
Experts say raising the retirement age would not provide a quick solution to Social Security's immediate funding problem.
Joel Eskovitz, senior director of Social Security and savings at the AARP Public Policy Institute, said during a virtual briefing hosted by the National Academy of Social Insurance that raising the retirement age "really doesn't do anything in this short-term conversation."
Eskovitz also noted that higher retirement ages may disproportionately hurt lower-income Americans and workers in physically demanding jobs, since wealthier Americans generally live longer and may benefit more from delayed retirement.
The political challenge remains steep. A recent Ronald Reagan Institute survey found that only 26% of Americans support raising the retirement age, while 74% oppose it.
Recent projections suggest retirees could face benefit cuts of roughly 22% to 24% without legislative action, translating to around a $500 monthly reduction for the average retiree.
Economist Justin Wolfers has argued that Social Security's problem is fundamentally demographic rather than political. As birth rates decline and Americans live longer, fewer workers are supporting a growing number of retirees, increasing pressure on the system.
