What a Trump Presidency Could Mean for Social Security Benefits

Americans are polarized on many issues, but there’s at least one program that continually wins nearly everyone’s support: Social Security.

It isn’t subject to the fluctuations of the stock market, it provides an inflation-adjusted income stream that retirees cannot outlive — and it has been a crucial piece of the social safety net since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law in 1935.

President-elect Donald J. Trump has pledged to protect the program, but many policies he proposed on the campaign trail would weaken its already frail finances, depriving it of much-needed revenue. And plenty of influential Republicans have long called for cuts to the program.

So when we asked our readers if they had money-related questions in the wake of the presidential election, many people responded with concerns about whether their monthly checks were at risk.

Here’s a selection of their top questions, answered by experts, along with some background on the state of play.

Which of the president-elect’s policies could hurt Social Security’s financing?

Social Security has faced a financing shortfall for years, in part because of demographic shifts. More retirees are collecting benefits for longer periods, and a declining birthrate means fewer workers contributing to payroll taxes, the primary source of Social Security funds. And a larger share of the country’s income base is not subject to the tax compared with years past.