--- title: Democrats and Republicans Actually Agree on These Ideas to Fund Social Security description: New research shows that "very large bipartisan majorities" actually agree on several proposals that could fund the Social Security program. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 600 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-10-18T17:05:36.000Z' modified: '2024-10-19T16:05:52.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 661 canonical: https://money.com/bipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Illustration featuring a broken social security system being fixed with blue and red band-aids](https://img.money.com/2024/10/News-Democrats-Republicans-Agree-Fix-Social-Security.jpg?crop=0px%2C149px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) Given the polarizing nature of Social Security funding debates, Republicans and Democrats in Washington have been unable to make meaningful progress on solutions that would shore up the program. But [new research](https://publicconsultation.org/swing-six-ss/social-security/) shows that "very large bipartisan majorities" of everyday Americans actually agree on a number of changes that could strengthen it and ensure benefits can be paid in full for years to come. Without a legislative solution, Social Security trust fund reserves are on track to be depleted just over a decade from now. At that point, only 83% of benefits would be paid to recipients. Some of the [changes](https://money.com/proposals-fix-social-security-affect-benefits/) with bipartisan support include ideas that are typically thought of as unpopular, like increasing the 6.2% Social Security [payroll tax](https://money.com/eliminate-social-security-tax-bill/) and [raising the retirement age](https://money.com/raising-retirement-age-social-security-fix/), but there's a key caveat. Unlike traditional surveys that simply poll respondents on their support for policy proposals, this one — from the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation — included an educational component. Participants were asked to read a briefing with information about Social Security taxes, benefit structure and the funding issue before answering questions. ## Long-Term Care Insurance allows you to know that you and your loved ones are financially protected as you age ### Regular health insurance, disability insurance, and Medicare are not designed to cover long-term care costs. Get Long-Term Care Insurance today - select your state to get a free quote. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/b569008ea8c5?ap_referrer=%2Fbipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fbest-long-term-care-insurance-money&apxa1=social-security-insolvency-date-2032) The results show there's hope for the country to come together and solve this issue, but it will take a reckoning with the magnitude of the [problem at hand](https://money.com/social-security-trust-fund-update/), Ron Gebhardtsbauer, emeritus professor of actuarial science at Penn State, said during a panel session Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Actuaries. "They weren't asked just the question, 'What do you think about raising the retirement age?' You know, nobody's going to like that idea. Or, 'What do you think about a big tax increase?' Nobody's going to like that," Gebhardtsbauer said. "But what they had to do, it was like a challenge… \[that\] says here's the problem, we got to fill this hole. OK, how are we going to do it?" Here are the four proposals that are broadly supported by Republicans and Democrats in the survey, which oversamples swing states: - 87% support subjecting wages over $400,000 to the Social Security payroll tax - 86% support gradually increasing the payroll tax from 6.2% to 6.5% over six years - 89% support gradually raising the retirement age from 67 to 68 by 2033 - 92% support reducing benefits for the top 20% of earners by income Put together, these four changes would address 101% of Social Security's 75-year funding shortfall, which would provide a comfortable buffer from an actuarial perspective, according to the report. The first of those proposals is in line with the Biden-Harris administration's policy stance, and the $400,000 figure correlates with its pledge not to raise taxes on anyone below that income threshold. The idea would be to create a "doughnut hole" for payroll taxes, Aaron Cirksena, founder and CEO of MDRN Capital, recently [told Money](https://money.com/proposals-fix-social-security-affect-benefits/): “You're taxed up to $168,600, then there isn't tax from $168,600 to $400,000, but then from $400,000 and anything above... is getting taxed again.” The other three proposals — increasing the payroll tax rate, raising the retirement age and reducing benefits — lack support from both candidates in the upcoming presidential election. [Budget proposals](https://rollcall.com/2023/06/14/conservatives-budget-plan-renews-battle-over-seniors-benefits/) from the Republican Study Committee, the large House GOP caucus, call for gradually increasing the retirement to 69. The retirement age determines when people are eligible for full Social Security benefits. You can currently claim benefits as early as 62, but your payouts will be reduced if you claim before 67. Despite the recent gridlock on Social Security fixes, at the meeting of actuaries, another speaker, Stephen Goss, chief actuary at the Social Security Administration, referred to the financial shortfalls the program is facing in the future as "very remediable." The survey data above suggests there may be more room for consensus that previously thought. ## Get the care you will need after age 65 ### 70% of people 65+ will require long-term care. A Long-Term Care Insurance policy makes the process easier by helping you pay for the care you need in your golden years. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/k696436a32ba?ap_referrer=%2Fbipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fabm-pub-best-ltc-insurance&apxa1=social-security-insolvency-date-2032) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/1402/medium_fWrleDLaHsZEAmRdSdadlEauvRehdv.png) Getting Long-Term Care Insurance allows you to know that you're protected as you age [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/be10e253227a?ap_referrer=%2Fbipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas%2F&apxa1=social-security-insolvency-date-2032) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/bipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Democrats and Republicans Actually Agree on These Ideas to Fund Social Security" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/bipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/bipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas/", "name": "Democrats and Republicans Actually Agree on These Ideas to Fund Social Security", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-10-18T17:05:36.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/bipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/bipartisan-social-security-funding-ideas/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-10-19T16:05:52.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Democrats and Republicans Actually Agree on These Ideas to Fund Social Security", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/10/News-Democrats-Republicans-Agree-Fix-Social-Security.jpg?crop=0px%2C149px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-Democrats-Republicans-Agree-Fix-Social-Security" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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