As Congress confronts Social Security’s financing shortfall, some Republicans are becoming more open to raising Social Security taxes to shore up the program.
In new analysis, the Cato Institute’s Romina Boccia looks at what a tax-only solution would actually cost American workers.
Cato’s new Social Security Payroll Tax Calculator compares the current 12.4 percent payroll tax with estimates of the rates needed to close Social Security’s long-term financing gap through higher payroll taxes alone. For a median full-time worker earning about $61,600, the added tax burden would amount to roughly two months of median rent nationwide.
Boccia shared the following statement:
“Raising payroll taxes to close Social Security’s financing gap would cost the typical worker $2,600 to $3,000 more each year. Instead of reforming a 91-year-old program to meet the times, Congress would be forcing younger, working Americans to pay more to provide increasingly generous benefits for a population that largely doesn’t need them.”
Boccia argues Congress should instead pursue reforms that slow benefit growth for higher earners, protect those who depend most heavily on Social Security, and put the program on a more sustainable fiscal path.
You can read her full analysis here. If you’d like to speak with Romina about the calculator, the cost of a payroll tax increase, or alternative approaches to Social Security reform, I’m happy to connect you.
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