Millennial couples are at risk of losing $908,000 in lifetime Social Security benefits if Congress fails to address the program’s funding shortfall.
That’s according to a new report by HealthView Services, a software company that provides retirement health care data to financial advisors.
The report looked at several Social Security reforms and calculated the financial impact on future retirees. Researchers determined the cost of doing nothing would have the most significant financial consequences.
At the current trajectory, retirees could see their benefits cut by 21% in roughly a decade if Congress doesn’t take action. If that happens, a couple retiring in 25 years could lose a combined $908,482 in lifetime Social Security benefits, HealthView Services found.
The projection is based on a couple with a household income of $175,000 where the husband is 40 years old today and the wife is 38. The estimate assumes the couple claims retirement benefits when the husband turns 65 and the wife turns 63, with the man living until 86 and the woman until 90.
Millennials aren’t the only ones who would be affected. Doing nothing also hurts those closer to retirement. An average income couple 10 years from retirement faces $252,000 in reduced benefits, the report said.
Although they have taken a hands-off approach so far, experts don’t expect lawmakers to stand by and allow Social Security funds to run dry. Instead, Congress will weigh a combination of reforms aimed at raising revenue and cutting costs. But each of those options comes with pain and most are only partial solutions.
For example, gradually increasing the full retirement age from 67 to 68 would cause that same millennial couple to lose $324,667 in benefits over their lifetimes, according to the report.
Reducing the annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) by 0.5% would also be costly, resulting in a $287,351 reduction in lifetime benefits for HealthView’s millennial couple.
“Congress will have to make hard choices that will reduce benefits or increase tax revenue for the program — both of which have a significant cost to future retirees,” Ron Mastrogiovanni, CEO of HealthView Services said in a release.
One of the more popular fixes — eliminating the maximum taxable earnings limit for high earners — would have no impact on the millennial couple, since they don’t make enough to be subject to the changes.
Payroll taxes are Social Security’s main funding source but the 6.2% tax only applies up to $168,600. Democratic lawmakers want to eliminate that cap on high earners and recent polling suggests voters are open to the idea but so far nothing has changed.
If that were to happen, a couple earning a combined $500,000 a year would end up paying $252,340 in additional pre-tax contributions over 25 years, according to the HealthView Services report.
“The data show Americans will have to either pay more into, or receive less from, the Social Security program even if changes are implemented immediately,” the report said. “If funding solutions continue to be kicked down the road, the cost of fixes – and the risk of significant benefit cuts – will only grow.”