President Donald Trump's One, Big, Beautiful Bill Breaks a Key Social Security Promise
The president's flagship tax and spending bill is missing a key proposal -- and it may not be by accident.
For most Americans, Social Security income isn't a luxury -- it's a foundational part of their financial well-being. More than two decades of annual surveys from national pollster Gallup have consistently found that between 80% and 90% of retirees lean on their Social Security check, to some degree, to cover their expenses.
For the 52.6 million Americans currently receiving a retired-worker benefit, nothing is more important than knowing how much they'll receive monthly.
Many of these retirees have come to realize that a Social Security dollar today isn't what it used to be. Due to inherent flaws in the inflationary index behind annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), the purchasing power of Social Security income has declined by 20% since 2010, based on a July 2024 analysis from nonpartisan senior advocacy group The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). In other words, retired-worker beneficiaries are eager for announcements and/or reforms that would lead to a beefier payout.
