Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTVishesh RaisinghaniWed, August 12, 2026 at 7:31 PM GMT+2 5 min readPhoto by Sarah Rice / Getty ImagesMoneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.Tens of millions of Americans could face an automatic benefit cut when the Social Security trust fund runs out by 2032, according to the Social Security Board of Trustees (1). This crisis can be averted but only if Congress acts to reform the system.Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed a reform that could not only avert the funding cliff but also help "increase benefits by $2,400 a year and expand Cost-of-Living Adjustments," according to a recent open letter (2) to his Democratic colleagues. That's an additional $200 a month in average benefits instead of the 22% cut forecasted by the Trustees if Congress doesn't act.Must ReadJeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being oneJPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide from Priority GoldThe tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closesHere's a closer look at Sanders' Social Security Expansion Act and how it could potentially end the program's funding crisis.Social Security Expansion ActOriginally proposed in February 2025, the Social Security Expansion Act (3) would add additional revenue to the program by simply extending payroll taxes on wages, salaries and self-employment earnings to income above $250,000.In 2026, the maximum amount of annual earnings that are subject to payroll taxes is $184,500, according to the Social Security Administration (4). "That [cap] means if you're a nurse or you're a construction worker, you're paying Social Security on 100% of your income," Elizabeth Warren said (5) during a Congressional hearing on Social Security solvency in August. "But if you're a corporate lawyer raking in millions, you're only paying Social Security on a tiny little fraction of your income. That is not right."Eliminating this tax cap, according to an estimate by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation (6), would address roughly 73% of the Social Security program's long-run funding shortfall. In other words, three-quarters of the gap can be filled by simply imposing the same payroll tax rate on high-income earners as ordinary Americans.Unfortunately, Sanders' solution has 0% chances of passing under the current Republican-controlled Congress, according to GovTrack (7). With the path to Social Security reform as uncertain as ever, now is the time to prepare your finances for any future changes to the program.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info