Can Social Security Still Pay Full Benefits? What Experts Say After Trump Claims ‘We Will Always Protect’ It
Written by
Jennifer Taylor
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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As of 2025, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund has the finances to pay 100% of total scheduled benefits until 2033, according to the Social Security Administration. After that, the fund will be depleted and the program will only have enough resources to pay only 77% of total scheduled benefits.
However, President Donald Trump recently emphasized his commitment to the U.S. federal program.
“Under this administration, we will always protect Social Security,” Trump said in his State of the Union address.
GOBankingRates asked several financial advisors to share their take on whether Trump can ensure Social Security can be protected. Here’s what they said about the future of Social Security.
What’s the Future of Social Security?
Social Security benefits will remain fully protected, said Noah Damsky, CFA, principal at Marina Wealth Advisors.
“More likely, changes are around the edges — increasing the early retirement age, increasing the full retirement age (FRA), lowering the full retirement benefit age, changing the equation to calculate benefits such as the using the average of earning years, etc.,” he said. “Reducing benefits is too bold and could be political suicide.”
Of course, major moves will need to be made to keep benefits intact, but he’s confident this will happen.
“Any of these changes would be prudent financial decisions for the health of the U.S. balance sheet,” he said. “However, politicians eager to improve the situation are going to carefully consider how changes that put fewer dollars in voters’ pockets will be received at the voting booth.”
Dylan Lund, CFP, founder and financial planner at Dylan Lund Financial LLC, agreed that Social Security benefits will likely be paid in full for the foreseeable future. He acknowledged that a solution needs to be found in the near future but thinks it will happen before funding runs out.
“I am expecting the government, like most budget issues, to wait until the last possible moment to get a new resolution passed,” he said.
Lund agreed with Damsky that politicians don’t want the downfall of Social Security on their resume. “Both parties are unwilling to take the heat for doing a major reform on Social Security — especially since we have stayed near a 50/50 mix in Congress,” he said.
How Can It Be Saved?
Lund predicted funding will be tapped from a combination of a payroll tax increase (by a few percentage points), an increase in the taxable wage base with new bend points and potentially finding a way to have benefits covered by debt in the future.
“Debt solution would most likely end the trust fund and would now be funded by the government’s general revenue,” he said.
Ultimately, he said this might not be the best solution, but noted that major change is unlikely when Congress doesn’t have a supermajority.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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