WASHINGTON, United States: A bipartisan Social Security reform proposal is drawing renewed attention as lawmakers confront a projected 2032 funding shortfall that could cut scheduled retirement benefits by 22%.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said at Semafor’s Future of Health Forum on September 15 that Congress had limited time to act before the program’s finances deteriorated further. He has worked with Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois on the PROMISE Act of 2026.
The bipartisan legislation, introduced on July 14, would establish a congressional process for developing options to restore Social Security’s long-term solvency. It does not prescribe specific tax increases or benefit changes.
The 2026 Social Security Trustees Report projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will exhaust its reserves in the fourth quarter of 2032. Continuing income would then cover about 78% of scheduled benefits. The combined retirement and disability trust funds are projected to remain solvent until 2034.
Potential approaches under discussion include changes to payroll taxes, adjustments to benefits for higher-income recipients and an investment fund proposal promoted by Cassidy. The PROMISE Act itself leaves those policy choices for subsequent congressional consideration.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that benefit reductions under one insolvency scenario could average about $487 a month in Georgia and Ohio, $523 in Michigan, $501 in North Carolina and $489 in Texas. The estimates model future cuts and are not scheduled benefit changes currently in effect.
Read: Social Security Debit Cards To Change For 3.6M Users
Cassidy said the latest trustees’ projections have drawn more attention to the issue, while warning that delaying action would make the eventual financial adjustments larger.
