Here's how Bernie Sanders wants to keep Social Security solvent 'for generations'

By Jessica Hall

The Vermont senator is set to chair crucial Social Security subcommittee

Sen. Bernie Sanders has said he wants the wealthy to pay more in taxes.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, aims to hike Social Security benefits by at least $2,400 a year and extend the program's solvency "for generations" in his expected role as the new chair of the Senate's Social Security subcommittee.

"How? By scrapping the cap & demanding that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes," Sanders said in a statement on X on Saturday.

"Scrapping the cap" means eliminating the taxable maximum, or the cap on the amount of earnings that are subject to the Social Security tax. In 2027, the taxable maximum will increase to $192,300 from the current $184,500. That means that people don't pay taxes on their earnings above that threshold.

Wiping away that cap would require wealthy individuals to pay higher taxes on more of their earnings, creating more revenue for the government and extending the solvency of Social Security itself.

Social Security faces insolvency in 2032 - at which time benefits would be cut by 22% - unless Congress acts to strengthen the system. Eliminating the taxable maximum is one of several potential proposals that have been weighed. Others include raising the full retirement age or cutting benefits.

Sanders's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If Sanders becomes the 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.

Sanders's proposal sparked a rebuke from outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, who said on X that the plan would impose taxes on people who are not necessarily wealthy.

"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 on Sunday. "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."

Cassidy has proposed placing $1.5 trillion over five years in an investment fund separate from the Social Security trust fund. The investment would be held in escrow for 70 years. Cassidy has said this fund would aim to have an average growth rate of 8.5% over 75 years, and would cover up to 75% of the projected shortfall of the trust fund that backs Social Security.

-Jessica Hall

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11-09-26 1749ET