A bipartisan group of senators is pushing a bill to prevent Social Security insolvency
The initiative, known as the Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone Act (PROMISE Act), follows the release of the most recent annual report from the Social Security Trustees, which warned of the program's deteriorating financial situation.
A Social Security Administration building
A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill aimed at compelling Congress to address the growing problem of Social Security funding, whose main trust fund could run out of reserves in 2032, one year earlier than previously estimated.
The initiative, known as the Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone Act (PROMISE Act), comes in the wake of the release of the most recent annual report from the Social Security Trustees, which warned of the program's deteriorating financial situation.
The bill was introduced by a group of lawmakers from both parties: Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Tim Kaine, D-Va.; independent Sen. Angus King of Maine; and Republicans Bill Cassidy, R-La., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. Shortly before its introduction, Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., also joined the group.
The proposal calls for the creation of an independent, bipartisan advisory committee tasked with developing recommendations to ensure the program's solvency. Subsequently, Congress would be required to put to a vote a plan that restores the financial viability of Social Security for at least the next 50 years.
"The longer Congress delays addressing Social Security's impending insolvency, the more costly and limited the reforms that are ultimately implemented will be," said Sen. Dick Durbin in a press release. "We were elected to solve problems, and there is no bigger problem than the solvency and future of Social Security."
A problem that Congress has put off for years
Although the financial deterioration of Social Security has been known for years, Congress has avoided addressing fundamental reforms due to the high political cost involved. Any change to the system tends to spark debate over potential benefit cuts or tax increases, measures that are traditionally unpopular with voters.
This would not be the first time the legislature has attempted to create a mechanism to address this challenge. In 2024, another attempt in the House of Representatives to establish a federal commission tasked with studying the sustainability of Social Security and Medicare failed after facing strong opposition.
Why is the deficit worsening?
According to the Board of Trustees' report, the earlier-than-expected insolvency date is due to several factors, including:
- The projected decline in the birth rate.
- Slower growth in immigration.
- A decline in trust fund revenues, attributed in part to the fiscal impact of the broad tax and spending cut package passed by Republicans and signed into law by President Donald Trump last year.
Experts emphasize, however, that the system would not disappear when the trust fund's reserves are depleted. Social Security would continue to pay benefits using revenue from contributions, although benefits would have to be reduced if Congress fails to take action.
The debate continues to divide Republicans and Democrats
The last major Social Security reform was passed approximately four decades ago, when, following the recommendations of a commission headed by Alan Greenspan, the full retirement age was gradually raised from 65 to 67.
At the same time, bipartisan proposals have also emerged to bolster the system's revenue. Last month, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno argued in an article published in The New York Times to raise the maximum income limit subject to Social Security payroll taxes. For 2026, that cap stands at $184,500 per year.
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