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Mary Esther Vigil, of Houston, knows firsthand the critical role Social Security plays in the lives of about 4.6 million Texans who receive benefits each year.
Vigil, 77, spent her career working for the Social Security Administration and now depends on it and her federal retirement benefits for her livelihood. Beyond that, her son-in-law counted on the program’s survivor benefits to raise her grandchildren after her daughter died of COVID-19.
But despite its historic dependability, Social Security's trust fund reserves are dwindling, and a decade from now, the program may not have enough money to fully cover benefits. That is, unless Congress shores up the program’s finances.
“I cannot believe how people are not aware of what possibly could happen,” Vigil says.
Starting in 2034, the program might be able to pay only 80 percent of benefits, according to a 2023 projection by the Social Security Board of Trustees.
AARP Texas is planning events around the state this year to raise awareness about Social Security’s fiscal challenges, mobilize voter support for long-term solutions and urge lawmakers to act.
“Ten years is not a lot of time,” says Tina Tran, AARP Texas state director. “We really do need Congress to be having those conversations now.”
In August, AARP Texas will host a statewide telephone town hall about the program. It is also planning other community listening and engagement events throughout the year.
The campaign will include outreach to the state’s federal officials, especially those on influential committees. Sen. John Cornyn (R) sits on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Reps. Jodey Arrington (R), Lloyd Doggett (D) and Beth Van Duyne (R) serve on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. Social Security falls within the jurisdiction of both committees.
Searching for solutions
Vigil, who is an AARP volunteer and is bilingual, says she plans to reach out to her city’s community to educate residents about the potential shortfall.
Some Social Security recipients already find it tough to survive on the benefits they get, she says. One of Vigil’s friends went back to work full-time recently to make ends meet.
About 72 percent of Social Security recipients in Texas are retirees. Family members of beneficiaries who have died and individuals with disabilities make up the balance.
Over the course of 2020 through 2022, Social Security lifted more than 1.1 million Texans 65 and older above the poverty line, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research and policy institute. For many Americans in that age group, a majority of their income comes from the program, the institute notes.
Social Security’s solvency has been an issue for years, with the last significant reforms to the program passed by lawmakers in the 1980s and 1990s.
The program is financed through a payroll tax of 12.4 percent—paid half and half by employer and employee, or fully by the self-employed. But the number of workers paying into the program is shrinking, while the number of beneficiaries it covers is on the rise.
In Texas, the number of Social Security recipients grew by 67 percent from 2002 to 2022, federal data shows.
Possible economic solutions to the situation include raising the payroll tax rate and raising the age of eligibility for full benefits, says Daniel Hamermesh, emeritus professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin.
AARP opposes cutting Social Security benefits to reduce the national deficit but continues to call on Congress to ensure the program’s future adequacy and financial stability.
Learn more at aarp.org/tx.
Sarah Hollander, a freelance writer and former daily newspaper reporter in Cleveland, has written for The Bulletin for 15 years.
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