The Social Security trust fund is running out. Why is it not a top campaign issue?

Limited public discussion of the trust fund's shortfall has experts worried that most Americans don't fully understand the problems Social Security faces — or weigh in on solutions.

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST: The Social Security Trust Fund is running out of reserves. The program's board of trustees projects that in six years, if Congress does nothing, payments to beneficiaries will be reduced by nearly a quarter. This would be devastating for seniors who rely on their Social Security payments. As NPR's Ashley Lopez reports, it's not something that's getting much attention this election year. ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: Six years sounds like a lot of time. But when you think of how much time it takes to fix a big budget problem with complicated politics, it's really not. Bill Sweeney with the AARP says - that is, unless you're a member of Congress. BILL SWEENEY: I'm not super confident that they're going to clear the decks and focus on something that's six years away. It's not very long for regular folks, but for Congress, it can be almost a lifetime. LOPEZ: Fixing Social Security will likely involve cutting benefits for some Americans or raising taxes on higher earners. These are decisions that could come with political blowback. And Sweeney points out that some of the people who will be making those decisions are currently running for office, particularly candidates who are running for six-year terms. SWEENEY: The people who we elect to the United States Senate in November are almost certainly going to be the ones in the Senate in 2032 deciding what to do with people's Social Security. And the fact that it's not coming up very often in the debates or in the questions, I think, is a serious failing. LOPEZ: Because candidates aren't talking about this, Sweeney is worried that the public is pretty much in the dark about what's happening. RICH THAU: America is completely unready for a national conversation about what it's going to take in order to make that program financially solvent after the trust fund runs dry in 2032. LOPEZ: That's Rich Thau with Engagious. He's been moderating focus groups with swing voters for the past three months and has asked about this. And what he found is that voters understand very little. Many conflate what's happening now with their long-running fears that Social Security will not be there for them when they're ready to retire. Margaret in Pennsylvania, who agreed to take part in the focus groups on the condition her last name would not be used, is one of these voters. MARGARET: 'Cause I'm worried not only for myself, but for my son. Is there going to be anything there to help myself or, as I said, my son when it comes time for retirement? LOPEZ: Rich Thau says both parties need to do a better job of educating the public about what actually is happening because they're going to need them to weigh in at some point. THAU: Because this isn't the kind of policy you can sneak past voters. In order to fix the program, someone has to pay. And you can't cut benefits without people noticing. You can't increase FICA taxes without people noticing. So if there isn't buy-in and an acceptance of the looming crisis in Social Security, it's impossible to fix this. LOPEZ: Andrew Biggs with the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington, says the biggest hurdle to all this, though, is that Congress always has the option to do nothing. ANDREW BIGGS: There's no requirement that Congress act at any given time. They can always choose to kick the can down the road. LOPEZ: And they have a lot of incentives to keep doing that. He says any solution to Social Security will have a significant impact on at least some voters. BIGGS: Each year Congress fails to act, the problem gets larger. And as the problem gets larger, that increases the incentives for them not to act. So you get this cycle where the worse the problem gets, the less Congress wants to talk about it. LOPEZ: Of course, not doing anything would also have a big impact. According to the Social Security Trustees Report, if Congress doesn't act, payments are expected to be 22% lower starting at the end of 2032. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST: The Social Security Trust Fund is running out of reserves. The program's board of trustees projects that in six years, if Congress does nothing, payments to beneficiaries will be reduced by nearly a quarter. This would be devastating for seniors who rely on their Social Security payments. As NPR's Ashley Lopez reports, it's not something that's getting much attention this election year. ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: Six years sounds like a lot of time. But when you think of how much time it takes to fix a big budget problem with complicated politics, it's really not. Bill Sweeney with the AARP says - that is, unless you're a member of Congress. BILL SWEENEY: I'm not super confident that they're going to clear the decks and focus on something that's six years away. It's not very long for regular folks, but for Congress, it can be almost a lifetime. LOPEZ: Fixing Social Security will likely involve cutting benefits for some Americans or raising taxes on higher earners. These are decisions that could come with political blowback. And Sweeney points out that some of the people who will be making those decisions are currently running for office, particularly candidates who are running for six-year terms. SWEENEY: The people who we elect to the United States Senate in November are almost certainly going to be the ones in the Senate in 2032 deciding what to do with people's Social Security. And the fact that it's not coming up very often in the debates or in the questions, I think, is a serious failing. LOPEZ: Because candidates aren't talking about this, Sweeney is worried that the public is pretty much in the dark about what's happening. RICH THAU: America is completely unready for a national conversation about what it's going to take in order to make that program financially solvent after the trust fund runs dry in 2032. LOPEZ: That's Rich Thau with Engagious. He's been moderating focus groups with swing voters for the past three months and has asked about this. And what he found is that voters understand very little. Many conflate what's happening now with their long-running fears that Social Security will not be there for them when they're ready to retire. Margaret in Pennsylvania, who agreed to take part in the focus groups on the condition her last name would not be used, is one of these voters. MARGARET: 'Cause I'm worried not only for myself, but for my son. Is there going to be anything there to help myself or, as I said, my son when it comes time for retirement? LOPEZ: Rich Thau says both parties need to do a better job of educating the public about what actually is happening because they're going to need them to weigh in at some point. THAU: Because this isn't the kind of policy you can sneak past voters. In order to fix the program, someone has to pay. And you can't cut benefits without people noticing. You can't increase FICA taxes without people noticing. So if there isn't buy-in and an acceptance of the looming crisis in Social Security, it's impossible to fix this. LOPEZ: Andrew Biggs with the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington, says the biggest hurdle to all this, though, is that Congress always has the option to do nothing. ANDREW BIGGS: There's no requirement that Congress act at any given time. They can always choose to kick the can down the road. LOPEZ: And they have a lot of incentives to keep doing that. He says any solution to Social Security will have a significant impact on at least some voters. BIGGS: Each year Congress fails to act, the problem gets larger. And as the problem gets larger, that increases the incentives for them not to act. So you get this cycle where the worse the problem gets, the less Congress wants to talk about it. LOPEZ: Of course, not doing anything would also have a big impact. According to the Social Security Trustees Report, if Congress doesn't act, payments are expected to be 22% lower starting at the end of 2032. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

The Social Security Trust Fund is running out of reserves. The program's board of trustees projects that in six years, if Congress does nothing, payments to beneficiaries will be reduced by nearly a quarter. This would be devastating for seniors who rely on their Social Security payments. As NPR's Ashley Lopez reports, it's not something that's getting much attention this election year. ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: Six years sounds like a lot of time. But when you think of how much time it takes to fix a big budget problem with complicated politics, it's really not. Bill Sweeney with the AARP says - that is, unless you're a member of Congress. BILL SWEENEY: I'm not super confident that they're going to clear the decks and focus on something that's six years away. It's not very long for regular folks, but for Congress, it can be almost a lifetime. LOPEZ: Fixing Social Security will likely involve cutting benefits for some Americans or raising taxes on higher earners. These are decisions that could come with political blowback. And Sweeney points out that some of the people who will be making those decisions are currently running for office, particularly candidates who are running for six-year terms. SWEENEY: The people who we elect to the United States Senate in November are almost certainly going to be the ones in the Senate in 2032 deciding what to do with people's Social Security. And the fact that it's not coming up very often in the debates or in the questions, I think, is a serious failing. LOPEZ: Because candidates aren't talking about this, Sweeney is worried that the public is pretty much in the dark about what's happening. RICH THAU: America is completely unready for a national conversation about what it's going to take in order to make that program financially solvent after the trust fund runs dry in 2032. LOPEZ: That's Rich Thau with Engagious. He's been moderating focus groups with swing voters for the past three months and has asked about this. And what he found is that voters understand very little. Many conflate what's happening now with their long-running fears that Social Security will not be there for them when they're ready to retire. Margaret in Pennsylvania, who agreed to take part in the focus groups on the condition her last name would not be used, is one of these voters. MARGARET: 'Cause I'm worried not only for myself, but for my son. Is there going to be anything there to help myself or, as I said, my son when it comes time for retirement? LOPEZ: Rich Thau says both parties need to do a better job of educating the public about what actually is happening because they're going to need them to weigh in at some point. THAU: Because this isn't the kind of policy you can sneak past voters. In order to fix the program, someone has to pay. And you can't cut benefits without people noticing. You can't increase FICA taxes without people noticing. So if there isn't buy-in and an acceptance of the looming crisis in Social Security, it's impossible to fix this. LOPEZ: Andrew Biggs with the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington, says the biggest hurdle to all this, though, is that Congress always has the option to do nothing. ANDREW BIGGS: There's no requirement that Congress act at any given time. They can always choose to kick the can down the road. LOPEZ: And they have a lot of incentives to keep doing that. He says any solution to Social Security will have a significant impact on at least some voters. BIGGS: Each year Congress fails to act, the problem gets larger. And as the problem gets larger, that increases the incentives for them not to act. So you get this cycle where the worse the problem gets, the less Congress wants to talk about it. LOPEZ: Of course, not doing anything would also have a big impact. According to the Social Security Trustees Report, if Congress doesn't act, payments are expected to be 22% lower starting at the end of 2032. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

The Social Security Trust Fund is running out of reserves. The program's board of trustees projects that in six years, if Congress does nothing, payments to beneficiaries will be reduced by nearly a quarter. This would be devastating for seniors who rely on their Social Security payments. As NPR's Ashley Lopez reports, it's not something that's getting much attention this election year. ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: Six years sounds like a lot of time. But when you think of how much time it takes to fix a big budget problem with complicated politics, it's really not. Bill Sweeney with the AARP says - that is, unless you're a member of Congress. BILL SWEENEY: I'm not super confident that they're going to clear the decks and focus on something that's six years away. It's not very long for regular folks, but for Congress, it can be almost a lifetime. LOPEZ: Fixing Social Security will likely involve cutting benefits for some Americans or raising taxes on higher earners. These are decisions that could come with political blowback. And Sweeney points out that some of the people who will be making those decisions are currently running for office, particularly candidates who are running for six-year terms. SWEENEY: The people who we elect to the United States Senate in November are almost certainly going to be the ones in the Senate in 2032 deciding what to do with people's Social Security. And the fact that it's not coming up very often in the debates or in the questions, I think, is a serious failing