Delaying Social Security reform would spare politicians difficult choices today while leaving taxpayers with a much larger bill tomorrow.

Senators elected in 2026 will confront Social Security’s trust fund depletion before their terms end. If they choose not to act, the law limits Social Security spending to incoming revenues once all trust fund IOUs have been redeemed. To avoid politically unpopular benefit and tax changes, some politicians are now suggesting that continued borrowing could be an option. 

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), for example, told supporters at a recent event: “Your Social Security is safe. You can write that down and take it home to mama. […] All we got to do is go take the money out of the general fund, which we always do.”

The problem that Senator Kennedy overlooks is that there is no money to cover Social Security’s shortfall in the ‘general fund’ either. The general fund is running a roughly $2 trillion annual deficit that is projected to grow to $3 trillion over the next 10 years. In 2032, the year Social Security’s trust fund is projected to be fully depleted, the general fund deficit is projected to total $2.4 trillion, with Social Security’s shortfall accounting for $680 billion of that amount. Taking “the money out of the general fund” therefore means adding to the deficit and the national debt.

And that choice would get expensive quickly. Social Security’s shortfall is projected to grow at an average rate of 8.3 percent a year, adding roughly $46 trillion to federal debt between 2026 and 2056. That would amount to about 34 percent of projected debt growth over those three decades.



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