What Donald Trump’s victory means for Social Security

Now that Donald Trump has won the presidential election, Americans are watching how he handles many economic, foreign and domestic policy issues.

A key concern in the election campaign was Social Security, which is currently facing a funding crisis that would lead to a benefit cut of about 20 percent as early as 2035.

Trump has loudly promised not to cut Social Security benefits once he becomes president.

“I’m not going to cut a dime from Social Security or Medicare,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Florida this July. “And I will not raise the retirement age by one day.”

However, in other interviews, Trump talked about how he would solve the Social Security funding crisis and appeared to suggest that cuts could be on the horizon.

“There’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements and cuts,” Trump told CNBC in March.

A few weeks later, in an interview with the conservative news outlet Breitbart, he said he would “never do anything that could jeopardize or harm Social Security or Medicare.”

A report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) concluded that Trump’s economic plans would “dramatically worsen Social Security’s finances.” According to CRFB, his actions would increase the Social Security funding gap by $2.3 trillion.

Newsweek Trump emailed for comment.

More than 72 million Americans rely on Social Security, and some of Trump’s other calls to eliminate taxes could inadvertently create a larger financial gap when it comes to benefits for seniors, experts say.

The funding crisis could be exacerbated by Trump’s calls to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, which would cause the SSA trust fund to shrink even further. In addition, Trump promised voters to stop taxing tips, impose tariffs and deport more undocumented immigrants, which could result in less money going to fund Social Security.

“The Trump campaign floated the idea of ​​eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits months ago, but it’s hard to imagine such a proposal being implemented,” said Alex Beene, an instructor of financial literacy at the University of Tennessee at Martin Newsweek. “Taxes on Social Security benefits, particularly for a growing aging population in the United States, provide significant revenue to the federal government and would further increase the deficit if eliminated.”

Staffing at the Social Security Administration is also an issue in Trump’s second term.

“Republicans have prominently advocated for staffing cuts in the department in recent years, and the result has been longer wait times for recipients who have trouble receiving benefits,” Beene said.

Michael Ryan, financial expert and founder of michaelryanmoney.com, said Social Security reform needs to focus on a few critical factors.

For one thing, Americans today tend to live longer and have fewer children, changing the ratio of workers to beneficiaries. The payroll tax cap also means that higher earners contribute a smaller percentage of their income.

“Massive, sudden changes to Social Security are unlikely because the program is popular and important to so many voters,” Ryan said. “But gradual change? Those are definitely possible.”