What Ex-Trump Officials’ Project 2025 Could Mean for Your Social Security
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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Even if you’re only the most casual news watcher, odds are, you’ve heard of Project 2025. This 922-page document — organized by The Heritage Foundation, a well-known conservative think tank, and authored by at least two dozen members of former President Donald Trump’s administration — has dominated headlines during election season.
Project 2025, formally known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, outlines policy proposals that could reshape the United States federal government should Trump win the election. These policy proposals touch every aspect of American life, including Social Security and retirement.
GOBankingRates spoke to experts to get clarity about what Project 2025 could mean for your Social Security and retirement years.
Project 2025 Wouldn’t Cut Social Security — but It Would Raise the Retirement Age
One of the biggest concerns about Project 2025 is that it will outright cut Social Security for future generations. However, Josh Katz, founder of Universal Tax Professionals, explained that the plan doesn’t eliminate Social Security benefits. He’s quick to add, though, that it does suggest changes that could impact current and future retirees.
One of the plan’s major proposals involves gradually raising the retirement age from 66 or 67 to 69 or 70. Katz shared that raising the retirement age means that people currently relying on Social Security might need to work longer to receive their full benefits, which could potentially impact their retirement plans and financial security.
“The gradual increase, moving the retirement age up by one or two months per year, is designed to ease the transition, but it may still pose challenges for those unable to continue working due to health issues or job market constraints,” he added.
Increases in Privatization Could Happen
Another key change that future retirees could expect under retirement policies shaped by Project 2025 is a shift toward a more privatized system. Though these changes might be geared toward addressing deficits within the Social Security system, they would require more planning on the part of retirees.
“One of the co-authors of Project 2025 has advocated for privatizing Social Security, allowing individuals to manage their own retirement savings,” Katz explained. “While this could provide more control and potentially higher returns, it also introduces more risk and requires higher financial literacy and planning.”
It Would Change Payment Amounts
When Dennis Shirshikov, head of growth at gosummer.com, assessed some of the changes to Social Security that could come about through Project 2025, he said that changes like raising the retirement age and adjusting the benefits formula could lead to a reevaluation of benefits for current retirees — which might lead to reduced payments, especially for people who are higher earners.
“The proposal to index benefits to a different inflation measure, such as the chained CPI, could also result in slower growth in benefits over time,” he explained. “This would directly impact the purchasing power of retirees, making it essential for them to reassess their financial plans and potentially seek additional income sources to maintain their standard of living.”
Editor’s note on election 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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