Key Points and Summary – The 2025 Trustees Report says Social Security can pay full benefits only until 2034—after that, without Congress acting, benefits would be partially paid.
-Amid that backdrop, SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano told Fox News that “everything’s being considered,” citing ideas like raising the retirement age or lifting the taxable earnings cap.
President Donald Trump participates in an welcome line at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
-After swift blowback, SSA aides said he was speaking broadly about solvency options; Bisignano then declared on SSA’s X account that he and President Trump will “never cut Social Security” and that raising the retirement age is “not under consideration.”
-Any structural change requires legislation and cannot pass via reconciliation.
A Social Security Crisis Coming?
Back in June, the Social Security Board of Trustees released its annual report about the condition of the Social Security Trust Funds. The report found that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds will be able to pay all scheduled benefits through 2034, which is one year earlier than projected last year.
But after that, the trust funds will not be able to pay full benefits, unless Congress does something to change the formula of how the trust funds are funded.
That 2034 date is now less than a decade away. But it doesn’t seem like there’s much urgency at any level of politics about solving this problem, which is the sort of thing that could prove politically toxic, once a cut arrives for the very popular and important Social Security program.
Trump and Social Security
The early days of the second Trump presidency were marked by a great deal of turmoil related to Social Security. There was a major controversy when the Trump Administration attempted to gut the SSA’s telephone customer service, claiming it was a nexus for fraud, but ultimately backed off on that effort.
There were multiple departures of top Social Security Administration executives when DOGE was rummaging through Social Security data, with a whistleblower last month claiming a DOGE official had “copied the Social Security numbers, names and birthdays of over 300 million Americans to a private section of the agency’s cloud.”
Trump himself has long vowed to protect Social Security, even when other Republicans have made noises about cutting benefits or raising the retirement age. Trump had vowed that his One Big Beautiful Bill Act would eliminate taxes on Social Security, but that claim has been seriously disputed.
In the 2022 midterm elections, which took place with Trump out of office, Democrats made the threat that Republicans would cut Social Security and Medicare a big part of their pitch, resulting in stronger-than-expected electoral performance for them.
A New Proposal?
Last week, Social Security Administration (SSA) commissioner Frank Bisignano appeared on Maria Bartiromo’s Fox News show, where he was asked if he would consider raising the retirement age. And he did not appear to rule it out.
“I think everything’s being considered,” Bisignano said in the interview.
Also in the interview, the SSA commissioner suggested other ideas, including increasing how much taxable earnings are subject to Social Security tax.
He went on to say that those who collect Social Security in the future will “probably have a different set of rules.”
Changing how the Social Security system of funding works, including the retirement age and taxation formulas, would require an act of Congress. Also, Social Security cannot be changed as part of the budget reconciliation process, meaning any such changes would be subject to the filibuster.
A Walkback on Social Security
Later that day, when Newsweek reported about the interview, an SSA spokesman stated that Bisignano had “outlined that there are a whole host of items being considered and that eight years is a long way away.”
The spokesperson went on to state that the “everything’s being considered” statement came after “a much more insightful conversation regarding solvency and how Commissioner Bisignano is making the Social Security Administration easier to access, faster to respond, and better prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”
The following day, a different statement attributed to Bisignano appeared on the official X account of the Social Security Administration.
“Let me be clear: President Trump and I will always protect, and never cut, Social Security,” the Social Security Administration commissioner said.
“That’s why we have made many vital reforms, such as cutting waste, fraud, and abuse from the program, to ensure the solvency of Social Security for future generations of Americans.”
He concluded by stating that an increase in the retirement age was “not under consideration.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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Jim
September 30, 2025 at 12:54 pm
No walk back on Social Security.
Given Trump’s campaign promises to hold harmless Social Security and “not touch it” and reduce benefits or raise the retirement age, it could easily be a political death blow to Trump and Republican’s drive to maintain control of the House in the mid-terms.
A lot rides on maintaining control of the House.
Lose the House (it might happen anyway, given historical norms) and impeachment looms as a distinct, almost certain result.
There is a simple solution: raise the income level that can be taxed from its present ceiling to a higher ceiling which has been done many times over the years. Or more controversial: impose a “high earner” tax on incomes over a million Dollars, say, as a hypothetical example.
That promise on Social Security has to be sacrosanct.
Or Republicans will pay the price politically and so will President Trump.
What will they do?