A Plan to Protect Social Security

As the affordability crisis creeps higher and higher, benefits like Social Security have become even more essential to the lives of seniors and the families that support them. And today, those benefits are under threat.

This year, the Social Security Trustees announced that because of the cuts enacted under President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” Social Security is projected to deplete its reserves in 2032 – just six years from now. If that happens, the program will be forced to reduce benefits to seniors by around 20%.

That outcome is absolutely unacceptable. San Franciscans on Social Security comprise a diverse group – they’re our parents and grandparents, neighbors, friends and loved ones. They have spent decades working, raising families, serving our communities and contributing to the place we call home. We must not consign them to facing today’s rising costs with less than the support they were promised and spent decades working to earn.

We must take urgent steps now to protect Social Security for decades to come. If I’m elected to Congress this fall, I will work to ensure our seniors receive full benefits under Social Security.

Protecting Social Security requires that we make one simple fix: we need to raise the cap on the payroll tax that funds Social Security. Today, employers and workers each pay 6.2% on wages, but the amount they pay is capped at a maximum level of income.

In 2026, that taxable maximum is $184,500. That means someone who earns $10 million a year pays the exact same amount into Social Security every year as someone who makes $184,500. In other words, most people are paying Social Security taxes on 100% of their income, while the highest earners are only paying on a small portion of theirs.

It doesn’t have to be that way. By raising the cap – or by having withholding stop at $184,500 and start again at $500,000 or $1 million – we can eliminate Social Security’s deficit and protect benefits for the over 260,000 San Franciscans who receive benefits each year.

It’s an idea whose time has come. There is bipartisan support for raising the payroll tax cap under an effort led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a staunch progressive from Massachusetts, and Sen. Bernie Moreno, a Republican former business owner from Ohio. If I am elected to Congress, I will sign on to their effort on day one, and fight to build the support we need from both parties to pass it.

These impending Social Security cuts are deeply unfair, and it is morally repugnant that President Trump and Congressional Republicans hastened this crisis so they could deliver tax cuts to the wealthiest and corporations.

But a path forward to preserving Social Security is possible. We have a plan, and now we must do the hard work of building the coalition we need to enact that plan into law. I have spent my time in public service building the broad coalitions we need to take on tough fights, and I know that with your support, we can win this fight too.

Scott Wiener represents San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in the California Senate. He chairs the Senate Budget Committee and is a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. He can be reached at 415-557-1300.