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For many Americans, payday can’t come soon enough. As of June, 61% of adults are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a LendingClub report. In other words, they rely on those regular paychecks to meet essential living expenses, with little to no money left over.
Almost three-quarters, 72%, of Americans say they aren’t financially secure given their current financial standing, and more than a quarter said they will likely never be financially secure, according to a survey by Bankrate.

“There are actually millions of people struggling,” said Ida Rademacher, vice president at the Aspen Institute. “It’s not something that people want to talk about, but if you were in a place where your financial security feels superprecarious, you’re not alone.”
This struggle is nothing new. Principal Financial Group found in 2010 that 75% of workers were concerned about their financial futures. What’s more, since 1979, wages for the bottom 90% of earners had grown just 15%, compared with 138% for the top 1%, according to a 2015 Economic Policy Institute report. But there’s now a renewed focus on wage-earner anxiety amid higher inflation and rising interest rates.
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The typical worker takes home $3,308 per month after taxes and benefits, based on the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But when you take a look at the cost of some of the most essential expenses today, it’s easy to see why consumers feel strained.
The median monthly rent in the U.S. was $2,029 as of June, according to Redfin. That amount already accounts for about 61% of the median take-home pay.

Meanwhile, the Council for Community and Economic Research reported that the median mortgage payment for a 2,400-square-foot house was $1,957 per month during the first quarter of 2023, which accounts for about 59% of the median take-home pay.
“Inflation is really hurting individuals having stability in their housing,” said certified financial planner Kamila Elliott, co-founder and CEO of Collective Wealth Partners in Atlanta. She is a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council. “If you have uncertainty in your housing, it causes uncertainty everywhere.”

Combine that with the average $690.75 Americans spend each month on food and out-of-pocket health expenditures that cost the average American $96.42 monthly, and you get a total expense of $2,816.17 for renters and $2,744.17 for homeowners.
That amount already accounts for just over 85% of the median take-home pay for average American renters and almost 83% for an average homeowner. This is excluding other essential expenses such as transportation, child care and debt payments.
“So much of managing your financial life in America today is like drinking from a firehose that many households are not able to show up and impose a framework of their own design onto their finances,” said Rademacher. “Many are still in this reactionary space where they’re just trying to figure out how to make ends meet.”
Watch the video to learn more about why financial security feels so impossible in the U.S. today. More

As Maui is devastated by wildfires, many may wonder how they can help.
Here’s what experts say to keep in mind if you want to donate.

Donated clothes for those affected by the Maui fires are stored at Honokowai Beach Park in western Maui, Hawaii, Aug. 14, 2023.
Yuki Iwamura | Afp | Getty Images

As the Hawaiian island of Maui struggles to recover from the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history, many Americans are asking, “How can I help?”
American households tend to give $80 per year to disaster relief, according to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, a charity organization, with about one-third of American households donating to these events.

That adds up to about $3 billion per year from Americans’ pockets for both domestic and global disasters, according to Tanya Gulliver-Garcia, director of learning and partnerships at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

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“It is a lot, and at the same time, it’s never enough,” Gulliver-Garcia said.
The generosity shown by many in the immediate aftermath of the fire that ignited Aug. 8 has shown “the aloha spirit is alive and well throughout Hawaii and far beyond our waters,” said Kaleialoha “Kalei” Cadinha-Pua’a, president and CEO of Cadinha & Co., a Honolulu-based registered investment advisor.
“The outpouring of love and support has been critical to help the people of Maui heal and provides much-needed hope during this inexplainable time of sadness,” Cadinha-Pua’a said.

For those who are interested in helping with the recovery, experts say there are several tips to keep in mind.

1. Send money, not stuff

When it comes to donations, it may be tempting to send clothing and other items you no longer need. But that may not end up doing as much good as you hope, experts say.
“Sending stuff is causing problems in Hawaii,” Gulliver-Garcia said.
Shipping containers are clogging up Honolulu’s port, she said, and require people to go through them.

Monetary gifts provide the most flexibility to families displaced by the wildfires.

Kaleialoha Cadinha-Pua’a
president and CEO of Cadinha & Co.

Finding the help to accomplish that task amid the disaster is difficult, Gulliver-Garcia said. Moreover, what is being sent often doesn’t meet the immediate needs.
Instead, donating money may help victims decide what they need most.
“Monetary gifts provide the most flexibility to families displaced by the wildfires,” Cadinha-Pua’a said.
By selling items you don’t need rather than donating those items, you may be able to raise funds to contribute, Gulliver-Garcia suggested.

2. Remember recovery will be long term

Typically, about 80% of individual donations go out in the first five to six days after a disaster, according to Gulliver-Garcia. Since the Hawaii disaster is likely to stay in the news for longer, that timeline may be a bit longer, she said.
However, the recovery from such a large disaster will take years.

Other U.S. areas affected by recent disasters, including parts of Kentucky affected by flooding and areas of Texas struck by Hurricane Harvey, still need assistance, Gulliver-Garcia noted. Moreover, 18 years after Hurricane Katrina, some parts of Louisiana are still in the process of being rebuilt, she said.
“Even next year or the year after when you’re thinking about, ‘How am I going to give out money to help with disasters?,’ remember that past disasters in many ways are just as important as current disasters,” Gulliver-Garcia said.

3. Choose your charity wisely

When it comes to donating, choosing trusted, well-known charities should be a priority, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez recently said in response to the tragedy.
To help with the immediate response, the Red Cross and Salvation Army are the prominent organizations on the ground right now, Gulliver-Garcia noted.

4. Beware of scams

Unfortunately, when big-headline disasters arise, scammers may try to solicit donations.
“In moments of crisis, we all must be extra vigilant against bad actors who try to take advantage of people’s good will,” Lopez said, in a recent statement.
If an organization is very insistent that you make a donation over the phone, it would be wise to hesitate, Gulliver-Garcia said.

In moments of crisis, we all must be extra vigilant against bad actors who try to take advantage of people’s good will.

Anne Lopez
Hawaii Attorney General

Other red flags include demanding a cash or gift card donation, using false names that sound like real charities or giving no specifics on how the money will be used.
Before committing to donate, look at an organization’s website and its financial information to see how much may go toward fundraising costs versus charitable endeavors, Gulliver-Garcia suggested.
If you’re tempted to give directly to a GoFundMe campaign, be sure to check that it has been verified by the platform, she said.
The website Charity Navigator can help provide more information on a charity’s activities. In addition, the IRS also offers a tool to search whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. More

There’s a lot of speculation about whether a recession is still on the horizon.
Some economists say the country is already experiencing a “richcession,” rather than a broad contraction to come later.
Layoffs have been largely limited to white-collar jobs while the unemployment rate, as a whole, remains near 50-year lows.

A ‘richcession’ may be underway

“In most recessions, unemployment rises more for lower-income groups,” said Tomas Philipson, a professor of public policy studies at the University of Chicago and former acting chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

“Although we are not in an overall recession yet, the demand for and wages of lower-income groups are outpacing higher-income groups.”

Maskot | Digitalvision | Getty Images

The start of the year was plagued by waves of layoffs: Employers announced plans to cut 481,906 jobs in the first seven months, up 203% from the 159,021 cuts for the year-earlier period, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm.
Some sectors, such as banking and tech, have been particularly hard hit, and a series of Wall Street layoffs earlier this summer fueled fears that a recession still looms driven by those professional job losses.
But there still aren’t enough workers to fill open positions in the service industry and the unemployment rate remains near a 50-year low at just 3.5%. 

What a ‘richcession’ means for consumers

“Recession is a loaded term,” said Jacob Channel, senior economist at LendingTree. “White-collar jobs might not be as plentiful as they were last year, but they’re still around.”
And “at the end of the day, even if white-collar hiring does appear to be on the decline, that doesn’t mean that the entire economy as a whole is struggling,” Channel said.
“On the contrary, most current data indicates that despite numerous headwinds, the broader economy is doing remarkably well, all things considered,” he added.
But regardless of the country’s economic standing, many Americans are feeling the pain of higher prices and most have exhausted their savings and are now leaning on credit cards to make ends meet.

Several reports show financial well-being is deteriorating. Rather than a “richcession,” this more closely resembles a so-called K-shaped recovery, said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s chief financial analyst.
Wealthy Americans aren’t exactly suffering, but credit card debt is at an all-time high and 61% of adults are living paycheck to paycheck. “Those are signs of financial strain,” he said.
However this economic period is ultimately defined, it will only be in hindsight, McBride said. “Typically, by the time a recession is declared, the recovery is underway.”
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Life Changes

Alarmingly, as graduate school borrowing increases, wages for those with an advanced degree haven’t changed much, a new report by the U.S. Department of Education finds.
“A closer look at borrowing trends and the outcomes of graduate programs … suggest cause for concern,” department economists wrote.
Those with graduate degrees tend to earn more than those who stopped their education after college.

Gatot Adriansyah | Istock | Getty Images

The share of federal education debt going to graduate students is at its highest point in history, a new report by the U.S. Department of Education finds.
Alarmingly, as graduate school borrowing increases, wages for those with an advanced degree haven’t risen nearly as much.

“A closer look at borrowing trends and the outcomes of graduate programs … suggest cause for concern,” department economists wrote.
“There is generally very little correspondence between the amount students borrow to finance their advanced degrees and their labor market outcomes,” they said.

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In 2006, the Education Department introduced the Grad PLUS loan program, which lets graduate students borrow as much as it costs to attend their program. Meanwhile, the most an undergraduate can borrow in government loans in an academic year is typically $12,500.
In its new report, the department analyzed debt and earning outcomes at about 5,300 graduate programs. It found that between 2000 and 2016, the share of graduate students who borrowed more than $80,000 to pay for their degree was almost 11% in 2016, up from just 1.4% in 2000.
On average, graduate students with debt in 2016 borrowed about $66,000 in total to finance their advanced degree, up from roughly $53,000 in 2000.

“If these trends continue, graduate loan disbursements may exceed undergraduate disbursements in the next few years,” the department economists wrote.

Earnings haven’t kept up with debt levels

Those with graduate degrees tend to earn more than those who stopped their education after college.
In 2022, workers age 25 and older with only a bachelor’s degree had median weekly earnings of $1,432, compared with $1,661 for those with a master’s degree, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Still, as graduate debt has shot up, “the earnings premium for graduate degrees has stagnated or decreased,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

The earnings premium is the difference in average income between people with different levels of college education, as well as high school graduates, after adjusting for several variables, including race and location.
The Education Department found that the earnings premium for those with a master’s degree has stayed between 55% and 63% over the past several decades, suggesting the “net returns of graduate degrees may have fallen over the past 20 years.”
“This is causing more graduate and professional school students to have trouble repaying their student debt,” Kantrowitz said. More

Roughly 3 in 5 unmarried millennial and Gen Z couples live together, according to a new report.
Half those couples don’t split the mortgage or rent equally, and 37% feel like their relationship is financially unequal.
“You’re not going to have an answer that’s going to be the same for each couple about what is fair,” said a social psychologist.

Zamrznutitonovi | Istock | Getty Images

Many Gen Z and millennial couples are moving in together before tying the knot to save money, but that doesn’t often mean a 50-50 split when it comes to expenses.
Roughly 3 in 5 unmarried couples in the U.S. live with their partners, according to a report by the Thriving Center of Psychology, which surveyed 906 unmarried Gen Z and millennial pairs in June.

Millennial couples are more likely to live together, with 65%, versus 37% of Gen Z couples.
More than half of couples, 54%, said finances were part of their decision to move in together. But that doesn’t mean they are splitting expenses right down the middle. Half of couples don’t split the mortgage or rent equally, and 39% do not split pet costs equally, the survey found.
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What is possibly more concerning is 37% feel like their relationship is financially unequal.
Experts say the survey results underscore that when it comes to sharing expenses, equal isn’t always equitable, or fair. However, the definition of fairness is likely to vary by couple.

“You’re not going to have an answer that’s going to be the same for each couple about what is fair,” said social psychologist Michael Kraus, an associate professor of organizational behavior at Yale University.

‘Seriously consider’ splitting bills by income

“I advise young couples to seriously consider splitting the household bills according to income and then revisiting it every year as incomes change,” said certified financial planner Cathy Curtis, founder and CEO of Curtis Financial Planning in Oakland, California.
For example, if your salary represents one-third of your household income, you might be responsible for a third of the rent. Couples should list all the household expenses, including fixed costs and an average for the variable costs, then split those costs according to income and deposit their allotted amounts monthly in a joint account, said Curtis.

This method can allow both people to have money left over after key expenses for goals such as retirement, especially the person with the lower income, she added.
“When I bring it up, I see relief in the face of the person making less money,” said Curtis, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. “I think it’s totally fair [and] I think it makes for greater equity, less resentment and also creates more communication around money,” she said. 

‘It’s almost not fair to split finances 50-50’

People come into partnerships from different financial situations, and that affects how they divide household expenses, said certified financial planner Sophia Bera Daigle, who is also the founder of virtual firm Gen Y Planning in Austin, Texas.For example, one partner may be saddled with student loan or credit card debt while the other partner is not. The latter may have the financial strength to carry rental or mortgage expenses so the other person can focus on paying down their liabilities, said Daigle.
“I think it’s almost not fair to split finances 50-50 without taking into account your partner’s financial situation,” said Daigle, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. “It’s really important to get a better financial picture of what’s going on with your significant other.”

Equity is ‘about what roles you play’

Society and culture has shifted toward a place of more equality, allowing more women to make more money than they did 50 years ago, said psychotherapist Dr. Carli Blau, founder of Boutique Psychotherapy in New York. 
But a division still exists around financial responsibility and maintenance that depends on the role both partners play in the relationship, she said.

Part of becoming a couple is developing a way to live together that’s neither yours nor theirs; it’s what you create together.

Dr. Carli Blau
founder of Boutique Psychotherapy

“It’s no longer about financial equality; it’s really about what roles you play in your partnership and do both people feel heard, seen, appreciated, supported and validated as a partnership,” said Blau.
It’s important for couples to have open and honest conversations about what their finances will look like once they move in together, because “part of becoming a couple is developing a way to live together that’s neither yours nor theirs; it’s what you create together,” she said.

Your solution won’t ‘be a one-size-fits-all’

Fairness is going to be rooted in each party’s perception of what is “fair,” and those perceptions are often distorted and inconsistent with each other, said Kraus.
Couples that communicate and discuss how to manage the finances together and are transparent about their contributions are going to create the “splitting scheme” that they both consider fair, he said.
For instance, it might not be fair for one couple to split the mortgage or rent evenly because that would be “90% of my check and 40% of yours,” said Kraus. “That might seem unfair to one couple but totally fair to another.”

“It’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all for each couple but it’s really going to be based on this kind of communication,” he added.
Couples risk dissatisfaction over perceived unfairness if they skip discussing their financial situations, cautioned Kraus. 
“If you’re really serious about somebody and they’re serious about you, being able to work through a discussion about fairness is something that you can definitely do.” More

If you suffer loss due to a natural disaster, file an insurance claim quickly.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency may also provide government assistance.
If you haven’t been directly impacted, now can be a good time to review your financial plans in the event of a disaster.

Hawaiians are still reeling from the deadliest U.S. fire in over a century. The extent of the losses in life and property in Maui are still unknown.
Early estimates from the Pacific Disaster Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency report that more than 2,200 structures have been damaged or destroyed, 86% of which were residential. The cost to rebuild could be around $5.5 billion. 

The economic loss of the Maui fires could total as much as $10 billion, according to AccuWeather.
As residents start to pick up the pieces, many of them may be wondering what crucial steps they need to take to recover financially. 
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“You have to go back to Hurricane Iniki in 1992 to find a natural disaster that hit Hawaii that caused anything close to this in terms of insured losses,” said Michael Barry, chief communications officer for the Insurance Information Institute. “This is epic.” 
After ensuring loved ones are safe, many victims of these wildfires may not be sure where to turn to start to rebuild their financial lives.

Here are two actions experts say consumers ought to take after a natural disaster: 

Contact your insurer and file a claim: First, reach out to your homeowners or renters insurance company to start the claim process. Also, contact your auto insurer and, if you own a small business, your business property insurance company. Take photos of the damage to submit along with your claims.

File a FEMA claim: Contact FEMA on its app or online at DisasterAssistance.gov to apply for federal assistance, as well. The faster you can file a claim, the better, to help expedite obtaining and getting coverage for temporary housing, experts say. Also, make sure to keep all hotel and meal receipts.

The 3 steps to natural disaster preparation

A Mercy Worldwide volunteer makes damage assessment of charred apartment complex in the aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, western Maui, Hawaii on Aug.12, 2023.
Yuki Iwamura | AFP | Getty Images

If you’re concerned that you live in an area that is prone to wildfires — or you just want to be extra-cautious and protect yourself financially against a natural disaster — insurance experts say it’s also important to take these steps:

Review insurance coverage annually: Standard homeowners’ insurance policies generally cover fire and smoke damage, Barry said, but it’s always a good idea to double-check exactly what your policy says. Take a look at your policy once a year to make sure you have enough coverage. Also, be aware of your deductible and make sure you have adequate savings to cover that amount. Do the same with renters, auto, boat, and business property insurance policies too.

Make a home inventory: Having an accurate inventory of all of the items in your home makes it easier to document and be fairly reimbursed for any losses. Log your possessions by walking through and taking videos of all items with your camera phone. Some experts recommend a thought experiment: pretending you could turn your house upside down and then writing down a list of everything that could possibly fall out, in order to have an accurate list of the contents.

Keep key documents offsite: Finally, keep your home inventory and other important documents, such as your insurance policies, in a fireproof box or off-site.

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With college affordability now the No. 1 concern among students and their families, a new ranking determines which schools are giving out the most financial aid to offset the cost.
Washington University in St. Louis claimed the top spot.
At some of these private colleges, the average scholarship award is more than $50,000, according to The Princeton Review, which can bring the total out-of-pocket cost closer to $20,000.

As a new college application season gets underway, the price tag for higher education is in the spotlight.
Now, above all else, students and families are concerned about the rising cost and the student debt that often goes along with it — without considering the schools with the most generous aid packages.

To that end, The Princeton Review ranked colleges by how much financial aid is awarded and how satisfied students are with their packages. The Princeton Review’s Best Colleges for 2024 report is based on data collected from 165,000 student surveys.
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Tuition and fees at a four-year private college averaged $39,400 in the 2022-23 academic year. At four-year, out-of-state public colleges, it was $28,240, according to the College Board, which tracks trends in college pricing and student aid. When adding in other expenses, the total tab can be more than $70,000 a year for undergraduates at some private colleges, and in some cases, even for out-of-state students attending four-year public schools.
However, about two-thirds of all full-time students receive aid, which can bring the cost significantly down. Your net price is a college’s tuition and fees minus grants, scholarships and education tax benefits, according to the College Board.

There are some schools that simply are more able to meet a student’s and family’s demonstrated financial need.

Robert Franek
editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review

“Crossing a school off the list of consideration based on sticker price alone is a mistake,” said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review.

‘There’s an enormous amount of grant aid’

When it comes to offering aid, private schools typically have more money to spend, Franek said. “Lots of private schools have great financial wherewithal and those resources get channeled into financial aid.”
The top schools for financial aid are all private and considered among the nation’s most expensive institutions, after accounting for tuition, fees and room and board. Yet, their very generous aid packages make them surprisingly affordable.
“There’s an enormous amount of grant aid — $74 billion — that’s a ton,” Franek said. As a result, “there are some schools that simply are more able to meet a student’s and family’s demonstrated financial need and that is something for prospective students and families to know about.”
In fact, the average need-based scholarship awarded to undergraduates on this year’s top 10 list was $45,447.

Top 10 colleges for financial aid

1. Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University in St. Louis.
Christopher A. Jones | Getty Images

Location: St. LouisSticker price: $83,760Average need-based scholarship: $58,197Total out-of-pocket cost: $25,563
2. Thomas Aquinas College
Location: Santa Paula, CaliforniaSticker price: $39,400Average need-based scholarship: $15,283Total out-of-pocket cost: $24,117
3. Skidmore College
Location: Saratoga Springs, New YorkSticker price: $78,880Average need-based scholarship: $50,000Total out-of-pocket cost: $28,880
4. College of the Atlantic
Location: Bar Harbor, MaineSticker price: $56,280Average need-based scholarship: $37,229Total out-of-pocket cost: $19,051
5. Wabash College
Location: Crawfordsville, IndianaSticker price: $62,425Average need-based scholarship: $37,419Total out-of-pocket cost: $25,006
6. Emory University
Location: AtlantaSticker price: $71,770Average need-based scholarship: $51,808Total out-of-pocket cost: $19,962
7. St. Olaf College
Location: Northfield, MinnesotaSticker price: $69,070Average need-based scholarship: $44,362Total out-of-pocket cost: $24,708
8. Reed College
Location: Portland, OregonSticker price: $78,010Average need-based scholarship: $45,237Total out-of-pocket cost: $37,773
9. Williams College
Location: Williamstown, MassachusettsSticker price: $77,300Average need-based scholarship: $66,083Total out-of-pocket cost: $11,217
10. Gettysburg College
Location: Gettysburg, PennsylvaniaSticker price: $76,690Average need-based scholarship: $48,852Total out-of-pocket cost: $27,838
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On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.
Eighty-eight years later, the program has never missed a payment.
Here’s how Social Security has changed, and what experts are watching for next.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law on Aug. 14, 1935.
FPG | Archive Photos | Getty Images

Social Security has reached a milestone — its 88th birthday.
On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. With that law, a social insurance program to pay workers ages 65 and up into retirement was created.

“We can never insure 100% of the population against 100% of the hazards and vicissitudes of life,” Roosevelt said when the Social Security Act was signed, “but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.”
Benefits have evolved in the years since the legislation was first signed — including the addition of disability benefits in 1956 under President Dwight Eisenhower.
Payments have also changed.

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The earliest benefits, paid from 1937 to 1940, were single lump-sum payments for those who would pay into the program but not be vested long enough to receive monthly checks. The average lump sum payment was $58.06.
Monthly benefit payments began in 1940 for retired workers, as well as their wives and widows, children under 18 and surviving parents.

The first monthly retirement check was paid on Jan. 31, 1940, to retired legal secretary Ida May Fuller. The check was for $22.54.
Much has changed since the program was established more than eight decades ago. Here are three important takeaways when it comes to your benefits.

1. Social Security has never missed a payment

Since Social Security benefit payments were established, the program has never missed a payment.
“Eighty-eight years of a program that has done exactly what it set out to do, and in fact much more, in terms of covering people for disability and survivorship and never missing a payment, is a remarkable achievement,” said Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
That’s even as the size of the program has grown substantially. In 1940, Social Security had 222,000 beneficiaries. In 2023, an average of 67 million Americans will receive a Social Security benefit every month.
For retired workers, the average monthly benefit is $1,837, according to the Social Security Administration, while the average for disabled workers is $1,486.

2.  Future benefits may change

When Fitch recently downgraded the U.S. long-term rating to AA+ from AAA, it cited an “erosion of governance” among the reasons for the change.
“There has been only limited progress in tackling medium-term challenges related to rising Social Security and Medicare costs due to an aging population,” Fitch’s report said.
Social Security faces insolvency dates for the trust funds it currently uses to pay benefits. That includes as soon as a decade away — 2033 — for the fund used to pay retirement benefits. When combined with the disability benefit fund, the insolvency date is 2034.

If nothing is done before 2033, that will lead to a 23% across-the-board benefit cut, according to a new analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. For the typical dual-earning couple who retires in 2033, that would mean a $17,400 cut in annual benefits.
To fix Social Security’s funding woes, it will generally take benefit cuts, tax increases or a combination of both.
Democrats have proposed several plans to make benefits more generous, while increasing payroll taxes on high earners. Meanwhile, some Republicans have suggested forming commissions to evaluate the future of the program.
Advocates such as the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare want to see benefits expanded, rather than cut.
Social Security does not contribute to the deficit, noted Adcock.
“If we weren’t forgoing so much revenue in terms of our tax policy, then the fiscal situation we’re in wouldn’t be so concerning as it is,” Adcock said.

3. Benefits will likely still be there for you

Social Security’s funding woes have prompted fears that the program may run out of money and stop making payments — a top reason for claiming retirement benefits early, according to a recent survey by asset management company Schroders.
Yet experts say it is best to keep those fears in check when making Social Security retirement benefit claiming decisions.
“Every time we have approached a shortfall in the past, there has been some compromise to be able to continue benefits,” said Joe Elsasser, a certified financial planner and founder and president of Covisum, a Social Security claiming software company.

For lower- and middle-income retirees, a huge benefit cut “most likely isn’t in the cards,” Elsasser said.
But high-income earners may be more vulnerable to having their benefits reduced, he said. For those beneficiaries, it makes sense to stress test their plans to see whether their plan still works for them, even with possible benefit cuts.
Nevertheless, for most beneficiaries, the advantage of waiting to claim benefits, and therefore getting the biggest monthly checks available to them, still makes sense, Elsasser said.
“We should not expect cuts, we shouldn’t make our primary plans based on cuts,” Elsasser said. “But we should make a contingency plan in case cuts do materialize.” More