Overview
- The Social Security trustees' 2026 report, publicized in mid‑July 2026, projects the Old‑Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will be depleted in 2032 and that continuing payroll tax revenue would cover about 78 percent of scheduled benefits after that date.
- Workers who claim at age 62 lock in a roughly 30 percent permanent cut to their monthly benefit versus full retirement age, while delaying claims to age 70 raises benefits through delayed retirement credits.
- The 2026 retirement earnings test lets pre‑FRA beneficiaries earn up to $24,480 before withholding begins and removes $1 for every $2 earned above that cap, a formula that can reduce a claimant's annual Social Security checks to zero until they reach full retirement age.
- Lawmakers and policy groups are debating fixes ranging from payroll‑tax increases to raising the taxable wage cap or changing the retirement age, and legislation introduced by Senator Rick Scott (S.4184) and a House companion would repeal the earnings test but has not been enacted.
- Advisors urge near‑retirees to check SSA earnings records, model claiming scenarios, and weigh health, savings and work plans because withholding reduces short‑term cash flow even though withheld benefits raise future monthly payments at full retirement age.