Social Security’s insolvency is No. 1 issue, says Sen. Bill Cassidy

Senate Social Security’s insolvency is No. 1 issue, says Sen. Bill Cassidy Comments: by Max Rego - 06/28/26 12:17 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Max Rego - 06/28/26 12:17 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Sunday he is “working” on gaining consensus for his proposed reforms to Social Security, which he warns is growing closer to insolvency.

“Right now we’re working on Social Security. Social Security is… going to [be] insolvent, and when that happens, there’ll be a cut of 22 percent to 25 percent in someone’s benefits if we follow the current law,” Cassidy, who was defeated by a Trump-backed opponent in a primary earlier this year, told host Margaret Brennan on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

Earlier this month, the board of trustees of Social Security and Medicare — which consists of multiple Trump administration officials — reported Social Security’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of its total scheduled benefits until the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than they projected last year.

Once the deadline hits, the OASI fund will be able to cover 78 percent of its total scheduled benefits, an increase of 1 percentage point relative to last year’s report.

After the trustees released this report, Cassidy and Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) urged their congressional colleagues to address the looming deadline for the program.

In a joint statement released on June 10, the four lawmakers called on Congress to “join us in doing what we were elected to do — legislate on hard issues and protect this lifeline program for our kids and grandkids.”

Cassidy, who lost his primary last month to a challenger backed by President Trump, also outlined his proposal to reform Social Security during an interview with CNBC earlier this month. The Louisiana Republican said the federal government should invest $1.5 trillion in an investment fund separate from Social Security’s trust funds over five years.

Over 65 to 70 years, the money in the fund would grow to 60 percent to 65 percent of the program’s unfunded accrued liability, Cassidy noted to CNBC.

The Louisiana senator, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Sunday he has worked on the proposal “for about six years.”

He told Brennan, “I am still working on that plan, and I want to bring it to completion.”

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