U.S. Fiscal Policy

A new proposal from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget would cap annual Social Security benefits at $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples, targeting roughly the top 2% of beneficiaries and aiming to help close the program’s looming funding shortfall projected for 2032. The CRFB estimates such a cap could save up to $190 billion over a decade and close at least 20% of Social Security’s solvency gap, especially when paired with other changes like lifting the payroll-tax cap or raising rates. Today about 1 million beneficiaries receive at least $50,000 a year, and a maximum-earning couple claiming at age 67 would get roughly $101,000 annually, far above the average retired worker benefit of $2,071 per month. CRFB’s Marc Goldwein argues six‑figure checks are hard to square with Social Security’s original anti‑poverty mission, and suggests indexing the cap to inflation or wages so it doesn’t gradually hit the middle class. AARP immediately pushed back, warning that capping benefits for higher earners risks becoming a 'backdoor' to broader cuts and insisting Congress focus instead on ensuring that 'every American gets every dollar they have earned,' reflecting a broader political fight over whether Social Security should remain largely earnings‑linked or move further toward explicit redistribution.