Sanders Seeks $2,400 Social Security Boost as 2032 Deadline Nears

By Nathan Brooks

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders wants Social Security benefits to rise by at least $2,400 a year, equal to $200 a month, while extending the program’s solvency “for generations.” The independent from Vermont is expected to chair the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy if he takes the role.

Sanders described the financing in a Saturday statement on X: “How? By scrapping the cap & demanding that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes,” he said. His plan would eliminate the taxable maximum, the ceiling on earnings subject to the Social Security tax.

What does scrapping the Social Security tax cap change?

The taxable maximum cited for Sanders’s proposal stands at $184,500 and is scheduled to rise to $192,300 in 2027. Earnings above that ceiling currently escape the Social Security tax, so his change would bring more of higher earners’ wages into the tax base and generate additional revenue for the program.

For beneficiaries, the proposed gain is at least $2,400 a year. For workers, the change means paying tax on earnings that currently exceed the cap. Sanders says the wealthy should pay more; Sen. Bill Cassidy says the tax can reach people who are not necessarily wealthy.

Sanders’s proposal is one of several options that have been weighed to shore up the program. Alternatives include raising the full retirement age or cutting benefits, while his package combines a broader tax base with a minimum benefit increase.

The 2032 deadline

Without congressional action, Social Security faces insolvency in 2032, according to the proposal’s background. At that point, benefits would be cut 22%. Sanders pairs the revenue measure with the benefit increase, presenting both as necessary to strengthen the system.

If Sanders becomes chair of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy, he would succeed current chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa. The chairmanship is expected rather than confirmed, and Sanders’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cassidy’s separate fund plan

Outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, rebuked Sanders’s approach on Sunday. “Do the math. This plan puts a 12.4% tax on people who are a long way from being millionaires or billionaires. Think of two ICU nurses married to each other,” Cassidy said on X.

Cassidy argued for another route: “Why not copy what Republicans and Democrats voted for 20 years ago in another government retirement system, use the power of the U.S. economy to benefit Social Security.” His alternative places $1.5 trillion over five years into an investment fund separate from the Social Security trust fund.

The investment would sit in escrow for 70 years, according to Cassidy. He said the fund would target an average growth rate of 8.5% over 75 years and cover up to 75% of the projected shortfall in the trust fund that backs Social Security.

The proposals place two different financing bets before Congress: Sanders’s expands the tax base, while Cassidy’s relies on a separate investment pool held for decades. For workers whose earnings exceed the cap, Sanders’s route creates a direct tax cost. For the Social Security trust fund, Cassidy’s route depends on the $1.5 trillion investment delivering the growth he projects.

For workers and retirees, the stakes are which approach Congress advances before the projected 2032 insolvency date: a broader tax base, a higher full retirement age, benefit cuts, or a separate investment fund. If Congress approves none, benefits would be cut 22%, according to the proposal’s background.