If You Plan to Receive Social Security in 2035, You Have to Prepare Yourself for This

Key Points

• Unfortunately, Social Security's trust funds are projected to be depleted in 2034.

• The program could face benefit cuts of up to 19% if the government doesn't enact reforms.

• Saving as much as you can for retirement and adjusting your retirement plan as needed will be key.

The year 2035 feels a long way off, especially when you're still stuck in a 9-to-5 job you don't like. If you plan to retire in a decade or so, you probably can't wait until you can sign up for Social Security and start enjoying the monthly benefit checks -- and the freedom -- you've worked so hard for all these years.

But Social Security will likely look different by then, and that could have profound implications for your lifestyle in retirement. There are still a lot of unknowns, but we can say pretty confidently that the next few years will force workers and retirees to adapt in new ways to remain financially secure.

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Social Security is heading for a shortfall

Social Security has been in financial trouble for a while now. Its expenses began exceeding its total income in 2021, and costs have exceeded Social Security payroll and benefit tax revenue since 2010. So far, it's been able to keep checks going out as scheduled because of the extra money in the trust funds to make up the difference. But that can't work forever.

The latest Trustees Report estimates that the trust funds will be depleted in 2034, a year earlier than previously thought. That doesn't mean Social Security would disappear. Revenue from Social Security payroll and benefit taxes would still fund the bulk of seniors' benefits. But cuts are a real possibility.

Without trust fund reserves, the program could only afford to pay out about 81% of scheduled benefits in 2035. That would drop the average $2,002 monthly benefit as of May 2025 to $1,622 per month. That's a loss of more than $4,500 over the course of a year. It would be a huge blow to seniors, many of whom depend on their checks to cover most or all of their retirement expenses.

Fortunately, severe benefit cuts like this are unlikely. Social Security has faced insolvency before, and Congress stepped in to reform the program. Last time, they introduced benefit taxes and raised the Social Security payroll tax rate. So far, Washington hasn't made a lot of progress on addressing this round of funding issues, but expect it to give this more and more attention in the coming years.

Whatever the final fix, it's going to leave some people unhappy. Seniors may have to accept smaller checks, or workers may have to pay more into the program. It's possible both groups may have to shoulder some of the burden.

What this means for you if you plan to claim Social Security in 2035

The uncertainty around Social Security is one of the most challenging parts of retirement planning for those who expect to claim benefits in 2035 and beyond. Right now, we can't know how far checks will go in a decade, which means we also can't know how much of our expenses we'll need to cover on our own.

There's no way to fix this, but there are two things you can do to prepare yourself for whatever the future holds. The first is to save as much money as you can for retirement right now. If you're already retired, be conservative with your withdrawals so you can stretch your personal savings as long as possible. The more money you have set aside, the easier time you'll have weathering whatever changes might be coming to Social Security.

The second thing you should do is revisit your retirement plan as soon as the government finalizes its Social Security reforms. You may need to make changes, like further limiting withdrawals or taking on a part-time job to make ends meet. If you're not already retired at that time, you may be able to delay your retirement to give yourself additional time to save.

In the meantime, if you have strong feelings about how the government should handle Social Security's looming insolvency, you can write to your Congressional representatives to make your opinions known. Urge them to address the issue promptly, because the longer we wait, the more drastic the necessary reforms become if we hope to avoid benefit cuts.

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