Democrats rode a blue wave of Senate pickups on Tuesday, flipping seven seats in red states and winning control of the chamber, while Republicans will also see some fresh faces. Together, the 17 newcomers from both parties will join the next Congress in taking on one of Washington’s most-dodged problems: how to keep Social Security paying full benefits.
The program’s trust fund is projected to run dry in late 2032. After that, payroll tax revenue would cover only about 78% of scheduled benefits—forcing an automatic cut of roughly 22% unless Congress acts.
Senators elected to full terms this week serve until January 2033, so the deadline falls on their watch. And because Social Security can’t be changed through budget reconciliation, a fix will likely need 60 votes and support from both parties.
Nearly all the newcomers addressed Social Security during their campaigns. As Fortune previously reported, the issue isn’t quite the third rail it used to be, but “protecting” the program can mean very different things.
Here’s what each incoming senator has actually said they would do.
Juliana Stratton, D-Illinois — Stratton said she would eliminate the cap on wages subject to the payroll tax, according to The Times Weekly. Social Security payroll taxes now apply only to the first $184,500 of a worker’s yearly earnings. Eliminating that cap starting in 2027, without increasing benefits for the additional earnings taxed, would close an estimated 58% of Social Security’s projected 75-year funding shortfall, according to the Social Security Administration’s actuaries.
Josh Turek, D-Iowa — Turek said he would liftthe $184,500 cap and opposes raising the age for full benefits.
Adam Hamilton, D-Kansas — Hamilton would raise the earnings cap rather than eliminate it, arguing that someone earning $1 million shouldn’t pay the same Social Security tax as someone earning $184,500. He didn’t take a firm position on the retirement age.
Andy Barr, R-Kentucky — Barr opposed changes for people already retired and called for bipartisan reforms for younger generations. He didn’t name specific tax or benefit changes but said reforms should encourage more private and employer-sponsored retirement savings.
Troy Jackson, D-Maine — In a September Bangor Daily News op-ed, Jackson called for scrapping the payroll tax cap and increasing benefits, while ruling out privatization and raising the retirement age.
Abdul El-Sayed, D-Michigan — In his final debate, El-Sayed said the payroll tax cap should be removed and that Social Security benefits shouldn’t be taxed.
Eliminating taxes on benefits without replacing revenue would cost Social Security about $1 trillion over 10 years, plus an additional $700 billion for Medicare, according to a July analysis published by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Peggy Flanagan, D-Minnesota — Flanagan backs Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Social Security Expansion Act, Bloomberg Government reported. The bill would apply payroll taxes to wages above $250,000, eventually eliminate the cap, and raise benefits. Her campaign site also supports eliminating taxes on benefits.
Kurt Alme, R-Montana — Alme says savings from cutting waste, fraud, and abuse elsewhere in government should go toward Social Security. In an October debate, he pointed to his experience as Montana’s budget director but didn’t propose changes to the cap or the benefit formula.
Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire — Pappas opposes raising the retirement age, cutting benefits, and privatization. His campaign highlighted his cosponsorship of the Social Security Fairness Act, the 2025 law that boosted benefits for public workers with outside pensions.
Roy Cooper, D-North Carolina — Cooper made the 2032 deadline a staple of his stump speech. He opposes benefit cuts and says wealthy Americans should contribute more to the program but hasn’t specified how.
Annie Andrews, D-South Carolina — Andrews supports eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits but hasn’t laid out a plan to close the funding gap yet.
James Talarico, D-Texas — Talarico wants to eliminate the payroll tax cap for people earning over $400,000, Texas Public Radio reported.
Barry Moore, R-Alabama — Moore’s Senate campaign website backed cutting taxes on Social Security benefits. He was also an original cosponsor of the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act, introduced in February 2025. The bill would remove Social Security benefits from federal taxable income and transfer general funds to replace the revenue the trust funds would lose.
Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming — Asked how to prevent Social Security cuts during an August 2026 primary debate, Hageman said growing the economy, creating jobs, and getting more people into the workforce would help shore up the program. Like Moore, Hageman was an original cosponsor of the 2025 bill to end federal income taxes on benefits.
The post A new group of senators from both parties will vote on how to save Social Security. Here’s what they’ve said about it appeared first on Fortune.
