RIGHT SPEAK: What Does a Trump Presidency Mean for Social Security?

Can Trump deliver an elusive fix for seniors' most important social program?

Social Security was arguably the biggest issue on the minds of senior citizens heading into this election season, and for good reason. Based on the most recent data released from the Social Security Administration, more than 60% of seniors currently receiving Social Security rely on their benefit for at least half of their monthly income. Seniors understood fully that the next president of the United States would have the opportunity to shape the future of America's most important social program.

The reason Social Security needs some serious changes involves two ongoing demographic changes. First, Baby Boomers are retiring at an average pace of more than 10,000 people per day, meaning the worker-to-beneficiary ratio is dropping. In simpler terms, there's simply not enough payroll tax revenue being generated to counteract the growing retirement benefits being paid out to beneficiaries leaving the workforce. The second factor is that the average American life expectancy has increased by about nine years since the mid-1960s. Combined, these demographic shifts are putting a major strain on Social Security.

According to the 2016 Social Security Board of Trustees report, the Trust that holds more than $2.8 trillion in spare cash could be depleted by the year 2034. If this were to happen, an across-the-board benefit cut of up to 21% might be needed to sustain the program through 2090. This isn't a promising scenario for the aforementioned majority of seniors who need Social Security income to meet their monthly expenses.