Social Security is an earned benefit that workers pay into with every paycheck. It is one of the most successful programs in American history because it gives seniors, people with disabilities, children, surviving spouses, and working families a basic foundation of economic security.

That promise is under attack because Washington has built a tax system where the wealthy get to stop contributing while everyone else keeps paying.

In 2026, wages above $184,500 are exempt from Social Security contributions. Millionaires finished paying into Social Security in early March. Billionaires are done almost immediately (Elon Musk completed his Social Security contributions just 15 minutes into 2026). Working people keep paying all year long.

Every year, Social Security’s trustees release an official update on the program’s finances. This year’s numbers show that Social Security can pay full scheduled retirement and survivor benefits until late 2032. After that, it can pay 87% of benefits for the next 25 years, 80% over the next 50 years, and around 76% of scheduled benefits for the next 75 years.

Congressional Republicans want to use that projected shortfall as an excuse to cut benefits. Speaker Mike Johnson has already said he plans to “adjust and fix” Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid next year. That is exactly the kind of language politicians use when they want to take a knife to our earned benefits while protecting billionaire tax breaks.

Congress does not need to cut Social Security. Congress needs to scrap the cap and make the wealthy pay their fair share into the system year-round. When millionaires and billionaires contribute more like everyone else, we can protect benefits, strengthen and expand Social Security, and stop the right-wing campaign to turn earned benefits into a target for cuts.

Tell Congress to protect and expand Social Security. Scrap the cap. Make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. Reject any plan that cuts, privatizes, or weakens our earned benefits.