Forest Hill's Jeff Judge in The Street: Social Security Is Not Disappearing. But Your Retirement Plan Might..

By Jeff Judge, CFP®, AEP®, ChFC®, CLU®, Managing Partner, Chesapeake Financial Planners, Forest Hill, MD.

The 2026 Social Security Trustees Report made headlines this week, and for good reason. The retirement trust fund is now projected to run dry by late 2032.

When that happens, if Congress does not act, benefits would be automatically cut by about 22%.

I was recently quoted in U.S. News on this topic, and TheStreet's Damilola Esebame covered it this week in a piece on the particular impact on women. (Link below.)

Here is what I want Bel Air-area residents to understand.

Social Security does not disappear if the trust fund runs out. Payroll tax revenue keeps coming in. That covers roughly 78% of scheduled benefits. A 22% cut is serious. But it is not a zero, and it is not unplannable.

The problem is that most retirement plans I review assume 100% of projected benefits. That assumption has never been stress-tested.

Women face this risk with a smaller margin. The average woman over 65 in the U.S. collects $438 per month less than men from Social Security, a gap built up over decades of lower wages and caregiving career interruptions. A 22% cut narrows that margin further.

What should you do now?

First, ask your advisor to model your retirement income at 78% of your projected Social Security benefit. If the plan still holds, good. If it does not, you have six years to adjust.

Second, understand your claiming options. Delaying benefits to age 70 can increase your monthly check substantially, and for married couples, the survivor benefit implications are significant.

Third, do not wait for Congress. Congress may act. The program has survived crises before, including a comparable fix in 1983. But your plan should not depend on that outcome.

The 2032 deadline is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to plan.

Link: https://www.thestreet.com/retirement/social-security-cuts-2032-women-ben...

Jeff Judge, CFP®, AEP®, ChFC®, CLU®, is Managing Partner at Chesapeake Financial Planners in Forest Hill, MD. Book an intro call.