AARP Official Stresses Need for Social Security Reform
As Americans report anxieties over the future of Social Security benefits, AARP officials are sounding the alarm over the agency’s upcoming insolvency.
The concern over Social Security benefits is coupled with financial worries that seniors and pre-retirees face today. According to AARP’s 2026 Financial Security Trends Survey, 37% of older adults are financially insecure and 60% worry whether they’ll have enough savings to last throughout retirement. Among older adults with household incomes of $75,000 or more, 20% report feeling financially insecure, a rise from 15% in 2022.
Others say they can’t even get by with what benefits offer today, as they report spending more on food, housing, transportation, and healthcare needs. Sixty-one percent of older Americans say the average Social Security monthly payment, at $2,000, is not enough to help afford the increases in costs.
In addition to higher day-to-day costs, a recent study from The Senior Citizens League found that compared to 2016, Social Security benefits today are only worth about 86.3 cents on the dollar, therefore losing nearly 14% of their buying power. This only further highlights the need to protect Social Security benefits from reductions.
“With prices rising for everyday essentials like groceries, housing, utilities and health care, current and future retirees are counting on Social Security now more than ever,” said Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president and chief advocacy & engagement officer at AARP, in a statement. “The bottom line is that Social Security is the critical foundation of retirement security that Americans have earned through a lifetime of hard work, paying in with every paycheck. It must be strengthened and protected.”
The findings come as the industry awaits the annual Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report from the Trump Administration, which would show how long the agency has before benefit funds are depleted.
Last year’s report showed that absent Congressional action, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund would only be able to pay out 100% of scheduled benefits until 2033. At that point, the fund will only cover 77% of benefits.
While the year remained the same compared to 2024’s report, it was advanced by three calendar quarters, signaling a possible shortened timeline.
Another report from the Congressional Budget Office projects up to a 28% cut in Social Security benefits by 2032, unless Congress enacts laws or provisions to fund the agency ahead of time.
A push for change
The warning signs have driven lawmakers to introduce legislation that would protect and expand Social Security benefits. Two bills, The Boosting Benefits and COLAs for Seniors Act and the Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act, both introduced by Democratic lawmakers, would direct the Social Security Administration to adjust the benefits formula from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) to the CPI-E, depending on whether benefits would increase.
One of the largest differentiators with the CPI-E formula is its consideration of medical expenses along with other costs, say supporters of the change. The Senior Citizens League notes that the CPI-E is specifically designed to represent older Americans’ spending habits.
Other groups are urging Congress to make haste before it’s too late. During a Thursday press call, AARP’s LeaMond advocated for growing the number of retirement plans available to all types of workers.
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump in May, which received support from the AARP, would create a new federal individual retirement account (IRA) marketplace and Saver’s Match in January 2027. It would aim to help workers—particularly independent contractors, part-time workers, small business employees, and self-employed individuals—invest more for retirement.
While the order drew support from industry groups for its potential to expand retirement plan access, it also received warnings at the time from some who worried about the plan’s execution.
Teresa Ghilarducci, director of the Wealth Equity Center at The New School for Social Research, touched on her support for the EO but also warned that implementing the order alone would be inadequate to ensuring retirement success for workers. In addition to implementing the EO, Ghilarducci called on Congress to pass the bipartisan Retirement Savings for Americans Act (RSAA) and fully fund and expand Social Security and Medicare benefits.
The RSAA would expand access to retirement savings for low- and moderate-income workers.
“The executive order opens the door,” Ghilarducci said. “The RSAA builds the house. Social Security and Medicare are the foundation. You need all three.”
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with nearly a decade of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news.