Washington faces a 2032 Social Security cliff and tough tradeoffs ahead

A 2032 insolvency of the Social Security trust fund could trigger more than a 20% cut to retirees’ checks unless Congress and the president act; bipartisan efforts are forming, but Trump and top GOP leaders have yet to back a concrete plan, leaving proposals like payroll-tax hikes or raising eligibility on the table and placing a difficult set of tradeoffs at the center of the next administration’s agenda.