Trump-GOP Budget Accelerates Social Security Fund Depletion

A recent analysis by the Social Security Administration's Office of the Chief Actuary warns that President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will accelerate the depletion of Social Security's trust funds by several months, worsening the program's financial outlook. The law, which makes permanent lower income tax rates and temporarily increases the standard deduction for seniors, reduces the revenue from income taxes on Social Security benefits, thereby decreasing funds flowing into the trust funds. The depletion date for the combined Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds has shifted to the first quarter of 2034, earlier than the previously projected third quarter, and the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund alone could run out by the fourth quarter of 2032, three months earlier than expected. The Chief Actuary estimated a net increase in Social Security program costs of $168.6 billion over the next decade due to the bill. Senate Finance Committee Democrat Ron Wyden criticized the legislation, stating that the Republican agenda has hastened Social Security's insolvency while also making significant cuts to healthcare and providing tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also criticized the bill, calling parts of it a "backdoor way for privatizing Social Security."