A bipartisan group of six U.S. senators introduced legislation Wednesday to compel Congress to act on Social Security reform before the program’s trust fund runs dry. The PROMISE Act would establish a formal legislative procedure to bring proposals to a floor vote — something that has rarely happened despite years of warnings about a looming funding shortfall. The program currently serves more than 71 million Americans each month.
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- —Social Security may pay only 78% of retirement benefits from 2032
- —Six senators — three Republicans, two Democrats, one independent — back the bill
- —Any fix must guarantee at least 50 years of program solvency
A trust fund on track to run dry in Q4 2032
The urgency behind the PROMISE Act is rooted in a concrete deadline. The annual Social Security trustees report released in June projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund — the primary fund covering retirement benefits — could be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, three months earlier than previously estimated.
