Washington, D.C. — In March, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) released its fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, which includes significant cuts to Social Security. For years, the RSC has included proposals for raising the full retirement age (FRA), or the age at which seniors become eligible to access Social Security retirement benefits without a financial penalty. These far-right plans are similar to those put forward by Project 2025’s authors and would threaten low- and moderate-income workers with economic insecurity once they leave the workforce.
A new analysis from the Center for American Progress examines the RSC’s latest proposal, which suggests the FRA be raised from 67 to 69, creating drastic benefit cuts for a large majority of Americans. CAP’s analysis finds that all new retirees would see benefits cut between roughly 12.5 and 14.3 percent by the time the proposal were fully phased in. Depending on the age at which they start claiming benefits, future retirees could see a monthly benefit cut between $345 and $741 in the first year, which would only grow from there.
For example, under this proposal, a median-wage retiree who earned $70,000 in 2022 and turns 62 in 2034 would see a cut of anywhere from $4,140 to $8,892 after just one year, depending on the age at which they retire. After 10 years of receiving Social Security, they would lose between $46,104 and $99,252. These losses equal about 25 to 54 percent of the median retirement account balance for those ages 55 to 64, creating a significant gap in a typical retiree’s finances. This analysis finds that nearly 3 in 4 Americans would be subject to the increase in the FRA, totaling more than 245 million people.
“Plans to cut Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age would make the program less adequate for future retirees and increase the risk of economic insecurity, especially for low- and middle-income future retirees,” said Kyle Ross, policy analyst for Inclusive Economy at CAP and author of the analysis. “For middle- and working-class Americans hoping to retire with enough resources to make ends meet, a far-right proposal like this would pull the rug out from under them.”
Read the column: “Raising the Retirement Age for Social Security Would Cut Benefits by Thousands of Dollars Each Year” by Kyle Ross
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].