Trump FY 2027 Budget Holds Social Security Funding Flat
Funding for the Social Security Administration would remain flat according to President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget request, released today by the White House.
The sweeping proposal seeks to sharply boost defense spending but also calls for budget cuts across many non-defense domestic programs. The request, prepared by White House budget chief Russell Vought, calls for $1.5 trillion in defense spending, a roughly 42% increase from 2026 funding levels.
While a president’s budget proposal is seen as more of a wish list than a bill that will be enacted, it serves as a statement of priorities and a roadmap for Republicans in Congress. As usual, the budget request quickly sparked questions about whether core safety net programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits would be on the chopping block.
While the proposal leans largely on previously enacted healthcare savings—signaling ongoing pressure on federal spending—it does not include direct cuts to Social Security benefits, Medicare entitlements, or VA benefits. The White House budget materials do not call for any structural reforms, benefit trims, or changes to eligibility criteria for retirement, disability, or survivor benefits.
Trump’s budget would provide $14.7 billion for the SSA, the same amount as in 2026 and slightly less than the $14.9 billion requested by the Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano.
Social Security advocates were quick to criticize the budget Friday.
“After unleashing DOGE to decimate the Social Security Administration, Trump’s spending blueprint flat-funds the agency, providing less than even his own Social Security Commissioner requested. Trump proposes to cut some $15 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services, after slashing the workforce that administers Medicare and Medicaid,” said Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
Noting that while benefits won’t be cut themselves, Richtman said the White House budget “jabs a finger in the eye of American seniors” by eliminating Community Service Block Grants, the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and Senior Employment Services, which all provide older people with food assistance, home heating, and job opportunities.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, also released a statement Friday taking issue with the budget request.
This budget is not only two months late, but it is also light on details and heavy on borrowing. It is missing any significant plan for how to address the major drivers of our spending and deficit growth, it leaves Social Security on a track to be insolvent within the decade, and it relies on an entire decade of rosy economic assumptions for the vast majority of its improvements in the nation’s finances,” MacGuineas said.
“As the budget process formally kicks off for the upcoming fiscal year—and as some lawmakers consider using the budget reconciliation process again—we need a serious, sobering assessment of our unsustainable fiscal situation,” she added.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement Friday that President Trump is putting “endless wars first and working families last” with the budget request.
“Earlier this week, the president said it was ‘not possible’ for the federal government to fund Medicare, Medicaid, and child care for American families because we need to focus on ‘military protection.’ He clearly intends to follow through on that idea, and we cannot let him. I urge my colleagues in Congress to reject the president’s absurd demands and continue to fund programs that help the American people and our economy thrive, not waste billions of taxpayer dollars on an increasingly expensive and deadly war that nobody wants.”
Republican lawmakers have largely rallied behind the president’s 2027 budget request, framing it as a continuation of party priorities around fiscal restraint, national defense, and reduced federal spending on domestic programs. Many GOP leaders have expressed support for the proposal’s emphasis on military funding and efforts to curb what they view as unsustainable entitlement and discretionary spending, while arguing it reflects campaign commitments to streamline government and promote economic growth.
“President Trump’s proposed budget for FY27 fulfills Republicans’ commitment to restore fiscal sanity, reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington, make our streets and neighborhoods safe again, and further ignite the American dream. These are the things we ran on and that the American people voted for,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement.
SEE ALSO:
• Social Security Trust Fund Now Projected to Run Dry in 2032: CBO
• Trump Floats New Retirement Plan for Workers Without 401(k)s During State of the Union
• 4 Million Children Signed Up for Trump Accounts: IRS
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.