Social Security benefits could be cut 22% in 2032—and one fix would mean a 40% payroll tax hike for millennials and Gen Z

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Millions of Americans are getting a raise from Social Security next year. But the bigger story may be what happens a few years later, when the program’s main trust fund is projected to run dry.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2027 on Oct. 14, raising monthly payments as the program faces a long-term funding shortfall that could trigger automatic benefit cuts in the early 2030s.