# Social Security insolvency looms as midterms loom

> The program's trust fund faces depletion by late 2032, forcing Congress to act on an issue lawmakers have avoided for decades.
- Title: Social Security insolvency looms as midterms loom · CBS News
- Summary: The program's trust fund faces depletion by late 2032, forcing Congress to act on an issue lawmakers have avoided for decades. Social Security's trust fund…
- Keywords: social security, midterm elections, trust fund insolvency, payroll tax cap, congress, maine senate race, michigan senate race, retirement benefits, news, Social, Security, insolvency
- Source: CBS News — https://cbsnews.com/news/social-security-trust-fund-midterm-elections
- Author: Mary  Cunningham
- Published: 2026-10-29T22:00:14+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: social security, midterm elections, trust fund insolvency, payroll tax cap, congress, maine senate race, michigan senate race, retirement benefits, news
## Trust fund depletes by late 2032
Social Security trustees project the program's main trust fund will be depleted by late 2032. After that, recipients would face a more than 20% cut in benefits.

> the program's main trust fund is on course to be depleted by late 2032, after which Social Security recipients would face a more than 20% cut in benefits
## Congress must act now
The burden of repairing Social Security will fall on both sitting and newly elected lawmakers. Previous generations of legislators have avoided solving this issue for decades.
## Demographic crisis drives the problem
Social Security's funding is running low because the U.S. population ages. More baby boomers claim benefits while fewer workers pay into the program.
## Michigan candidates clash on fixes
Republican Mike Rogers highlighted eliminating fraud during an October 25 debate. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed supported removing the cap on income subject to payroll taxes.
## The payroll tax cap explained
The current payroll tax income limit is one hundred eighty-four thousand five hundred dollars. Earnings above that are exempt from payroll taxes. The tax is twelve point four percent.
## Maine's oldest population, highest stakes
Maine has the oldest population of any U.S. state. Around three hundred ninety thousand Maine residents collected Social Security as of December 2025, more than a quarter of the state's population.
## Jackson backs scrapping the cap
Troy Jackson, Maine's Democratic Senate candidate, committed to eliminating the payroll tax income cap. He said billionaires should pay into Social Security at the same rate teachers and loggers do.

> billionaires should pay into Social Security at the same rate teachers and loggers do
## Collins proposes bipartisan commission
Republican Susan Collins co-sponsored the Social Security Fairness Act, which passed in 2025. She suggested creating a bipartisan commission to develop solutions, potentially raising the earnings cap.
## Key takeaway

Social Security's trust fund is projected to run out by late 2032, triggering automatic benefit cuts of over 20 percent unless Congress acts.