本月初，美国社保信托基金受托人发布报告称，社保储备基金最快六年内就会耗尽，危机时限比此前预估大幅提前。
眼看社保资金缺口迫在眉睫，两名跨党派议员于上周在《纽约时报》联合刊发评论文章，推出一套社保救市方案。 马萨诸塞州民主党参议员伊丽莎白・沃伦、俄亥俄州共和党参议员伯尼・莫雷诺共同提议：取消社保薪资税的年收入征税上限。目前该征税门槛为 18.45 万美元。
简单来说，按照这项提案，年收入超过 18.45 万美元的人群，全部收入都需要缴纳社保薪资税。据测算，该政策未来十年能为社保体系新增数万亿美元资金。
理论上，这套方案能避免社保管理方采取削减养老金等损害领取者利益的激进补救措施。
不过对应这项提议的正式法案尚未提交国会。沃伦与莫雷诺在时报专栏中表示，二人正在草拟配套立法。两位参议员的发言人都拒绝对法案推进进度作出回应。
以下是这份全新跨党派社保保障方案的完整关键信息：
一、美国社保体系真的陷入财务危机了吗?
答案是肯定的。本月社保信托基金受托人报告显示，未来数年社保预算压力会持续加剧。
报告测算：如果不合并老年社保与残障社保两项基金，信托基金将在 2032 年彻底枯竭;若合并两类基金，资金耗尽时间会延后至 2034 年。而受托人去年的预测是，社保体系将在 2033 至 2034 年间丧失偿付能力。
社保体系的资金来源于雇员与雇主共同缴纳的薪资税，这笔资金独立于联邦政府总预算。但城市研究所今年早些时候发布的研究显示，自 2010 年代初开始，社保每年发放的养老金福利，已经常年超过税收收入，基金储备持续缩水。
生育率走低、移民数量减少，进一步加剧了资金缺口：缴纳社保的劳动人口不断缩减，同时大批婴儿潮一代陆续达到退休年龄、开始申领养老金。此外，此前通过的《伟大繁荣法案》取消了养老金收益相关税收，又砍掉了社保体系另一项收入来源。
二、沃伦与莫雷诺的社保改革方案具体内容是什么?
这份跨党派改革方案，核心调整社保赖以运转的薪资税规则。
现行社保薪资税税率为 12.4%，由雇主和员工各承担一半。但该税种仅对年收入中最高 18.45 万美元部分征税，超出上限的收入无需缴纳社保税。
沃伦与莫雷诺的提案主张废除这一征税上限：哪怕个人年收入突破 18.45 万美元，全部收入都要足额缴纳社保薪资税。
二人在《纽约时报》联合专栏中写道：“绝大多数美国人年收入都低于这个门槛，普通人的全部收入都要缴纳社保税，可高收入群体仅需为部分收入缴税。”
无党派机构彼得森国际经济研究所分析，取消征税上限后，未来十年社保将新增约 3.4 万亿美元税收，能填补体系超半数资金缺口。
二人还表示：“物价持续上涨、人工智能带来经济前景不确定性，社保必须保持稳定兜底作用，保障退休人群负担基本生活开支。”
但该提案已遭到保守派议员反对。俄亥俄州共和党参议员乔恩・休斯特直言，这项计划等同于 “大幅加税”。
休斯特上周做客《盖伊・本森访谈节目》时称：“我们确实要稳固、保护并强化社保体系，但我无法认同他们提出的这套方案。”
三、弥补社保资金缺口还有哪些备选改革思路?
近年来社保预算缺口持续扩大，政界与研究机构提出了多种解决方案。所有财政缺口应对办法，无外乎两种思路：增加收入，或是削减支出。
彼得森研究所提出一种增税备选方案：将社保薪资税税率上调 1 个百分点，从 12.4% 提升至 13.4%。此举十年内可新增 6010 亿美元税收，填补约四分之一的资金缺口。
社保受托人本月预警：如果国会始终不解决预估资金缺口，到 2032 年，养老金将自动削减约 25%。
本月众议院还有一份跨党派法案提交审议：提议成立独立专项委员会，13 名委员由国会两院领袖与总统共同任命，专门研究社保长期可持续的改革方案。该法案已有三名共同提案人，现已移交众议院两个委员会开展审议。
城市研究所警示，拖延越久，社保改革的难度和调整力度就会越大：“迟迟不行动，未来要付出的改革代价只会更高、推行阻力也更大。”
What to know about the Social Security fix proposed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Moreno
TheSocial Securityfund will run out of money in as little as six years, a shorter time frame than previously estimated, according to areportreleased earlier this month by the programs' trustees.
News of the funding cliff prompted a pair of lawmakers to reach across the aisle and propose a rescue plan in an opinion piece last week for theNew York Times.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for lifting a cap on the amount of annual income subject to the payroll tax that funds Social Security. Currently, the cap stands at $184,500.
In other words, the plan would require individuals making more than $184,500 per year to pay taxes on the entirety of their income, potentially generating trillions in additional funds for the program over the next 10 years.
The proposal could, in theory, help administrators avoid painful solutions for recipients, such as a reduction ofSocial Security payments.
Legislation reflecting the proposal has not been introduced. In the New York Times, Moreno and Warren said they are "working on legislation." Spokespeople for Moreno and Warren declined to comment on the status of the measure.
Here's what to know about a new bipartisan proposal for safeguarding Social Security:
Is Social Security in financial trouble?
Yes, the program faces an ever-tightening budget squeeze over the next handful of years, according to a report this month from the Social Security fund's trustees.
The Social Security trust fund will run dry in 2032, unless Congress combines the program's old-age and disability funds, in which case insolvency would arrive in 2034, the report found. A finding last year from the program's trustees predictedSocial Securitywould become insolvent in 2033 or 2034.
The program generates revenue through a payroll tax paid by employees and employers, setting the income apart from the overall federal budget. Since the early 2010s, however, Social Security has paid more in benefits than it takes in through taxes, shrinking the program's available funds, according to a study issued by theUrban Instituteearlier this year.
The budget shortfall has been exacerbated by a decline in births and a reduction of immigration, resulting in fewer taxpayers at the same time that many Baby Boomers have begun receiving benefits. The One Big Beautiful Bill also removed a tax on Social Security benefits, depleting another source of the program's revenue.
What is the Social Security reform proposal from Warren and Moreno?
The bipartisan reform proposal would tweak the payroll tax that funds Social Security.
The program is funded by a 12.4% payroll tax, which is evenly split between employers and workers. The tax, however, applies only to a maximum of $184,500 in annual income, meaning any income beyond that amount remains tax free.
The proposal put forward by Warren and Moreno would lift the cap on taxable income, allowing the tax to apply to the entirety of a person's income even if they make more than $184,500 per year.
"Since the vast majority of Americans make less than that, most people are paying Social Security taxes on 100 percent of their earnings while the highest earners are paying on only part of theirs," Warren and Moreno said in a co-authored opinion piece in theNew York Times.
The elimination of the cap on taxable income would generate about $3.4 trillion in added revenue over the next decade, according to an analysis from the non-partisanPeterson Institute. The policy change would close more than half of the program's funding gap, the group said.
"With rising prices and artificial intelligence causing economic uncertainty for the future, Social Security must remain a stable foundation to help retirees afford life's basic necessities," Warren and Moreno said.
The proposal drew opposition from at least one conservative lawmaker. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, faulted the plan for what he described as a "giant tax increase."
"We need to secure social security, we need to protect it, we need to make it stronger," Husted told “The Guy Benson Show" last week. "But I'm not on board with the approach that they've outlined."
What are some alternative reforms for funding Social Security?
As the program's budget woes have deepened in recent years, elected officials and researchers have proposed a range of solutions. As with any financial shortfall, the fixes either increase revenue or slash expenses.
An alternate means of increasing tax revenue for the program involves ratcheting up the payroll tax by one percentage point from 12.4% to 13.4%, thePeterson Institutesaid. That move would generate $601 billion in additional revenue over 10 years, closing about a quarter of the program's funding gap, the group added.
If Congress fails to address the projected budget shortfalls, automatic cuts will dial back Social Security benefits by about 25% in 2032, the Social Security fund's trustees said earlier this month.
Earlier this month, a bipartisan bill introduced in the House proposed establishing an independent commission composed of 13 members appointed by leaders in Congress and the president. The commission would seek out fixes for the long-term sustainability of the program. The bill, which counts three cosponsors, has been appointed to two House committees for consideration.
As the years pass, the task of reforming Social Security becomes a greater and greater challenge, the Urban Institute said.
"Waiting only makes the changes larger and more difficult," the group added.
