Social Security’s Looming Insolvency Brings Old Myths to the Surface - AMAC Foundation
The June 9 release of the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report has sparked the usual wave of reaction in the media, although this year it seems more folks are waking up to the fact that, in about six years, the problem will become real. A substantial across-the-board benefit reduction, once thought to be a problem in the distant future, is now in sight. Perhaps what’s most significant at this point is that even the yet-to-be-determined legislative corrective action will not be able to stave off an immediate impact on seniors without temporary financial action by Congress.
Among the more than 70 million people receiving Social Security benefits, the increasing awareness of what could happen brings with it the usual chorus of accusations about what went wrong. You know, “politicians stole the money,” “Social Security will disappear when the trust fund reserves are depleted,” and so on. Our AMAC Foundation Social Security Advisory Service deals with myths like this regularly, using them as ways to educate the public on the reality of Social Security’s operations.
Many pundits are critical of Congressional inaction on a problem that has been known for decades. Unfortunately, this criticism leads many to believe that this prolonged inattention can be attributed to members of Congress not having a vested interest in the problem.
One of the Enduring Myths: Members of Congress don’t pay into Social Security.
This is one of those “urban legend” kind of rumors that just seems to keep popping up, especially when the issues surrounding Social Security’s financial problems take center stage. In addition to being untrue, it often is used to display the public’s animosity toward elected officials and the feeling that Congress—and other elected officials—are above the fray, so to speak, and therefore not affected by the implications of Social Security’s looming insolvency problem.
Here’s the reality. Since January 1, 1984, all members of Congress, the President and Vice President, Federal judges, and most political appointees, are covered under the Social Security program. The rumor that these elected officials do not pay Social Security tax is most likely attributable to the fact that from 1920 to 1983, they were participants in the Civil Service Retirement System—CSRS–the federal retirement plan federal workers used even before the Social Security Act was passed. CSRS provided a pension for federal employees, so they were exempted from contributing to or collecting from the new Social Security program.
In 1987, the federal government officially changed over to FERS—the Federal Employee Retirement System—and all employees hired from that point forward are now covered under FERS. There are multiple parts to FERS, and one of them is mandatory FICA contributions. So, federal employees—including members of Congress—are subject to the 6.2% FICA tax, are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, and are governed by the multitude of rules and regulations associated with Social Security.
In other words, this rumor was true prior to 1984, but today it is a misstatement of fact.
If you have any further questions please email ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org