If Americans lived on Social Security alone, some major cities would run out of funds within a week.
This is evident from new data from GOBanking Rateswhich analyzed how many days the average Social Security check would take a married couple each month in 50 cities.
The benefits could last for up to 19 days but would run out within 10 days in six populous cities.
In none of the fifty cities in the study could a couple survive an entire month until the next payment.
The study exposes how high inflation and rising costs of living are taking a toll on seniors living on fixed incomes – making it impossible for millions of people to rely solely on Social Security.
It comes as the future of the benefits program remains unknown.
Millions of Americans are waiting to see whether President-elect Donald Trump will make good on his campaign promise to cut taxes on Social Security benefits.
But experts have warned the cut would come at a cost to the struggling finances of the programme, which is currently set to run short of funds by 2035.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have just six weeks to send a bipartisan bill that overhauls parts of the program through the Senate and to President Joe Biden’s desk for him to sign.
According to GOBankingRates, Social Security will expire in less than a week in Irvine, California – the fastest of any major city.
In Irvine, which is notoriously expensive, the benefits would expire in just 6.73 days.
This is followed by Fremont, California, where they would run dry in 7.02 days, San Jose, where Social Security would run out in 7.5 days, and San Francisco, where funds would last only 7.91 days.
In fact, seven California cities — which also include San Diego, Los Angeles and Anaheim — are in the top 10 cities where Social Security would run out the fastest for the average couple.
Fourth on the list is Honolulu, Hawaii, where the benefits dry up within 9.59 days, according to the study.
On the other end of the spectrum, a monthly Social Security check in St. Petersburg, Florida, would take 19.38 days – the longest time among the cities analyzed.
In Madison, Wisconsin, funds would last 19.20 days, and in Chesapeake, Virginia, they would last 19.17 days.
For its analysis, GOBankingRates used the average Social Security benefits for a married couple in each city, which as of August 2024 came from the Social Security Administration.
It then used data from the ranking site Sperling’s Best Places to determine the cost of living in each place.
Beginning in 2025, the average benefit for retired workers will be approximately $1,976 per month.
This is because the Social Security Administration will increase benefits by 2.5 percent in January.
This increase, known as the cost of living adjustment, is based on the inflation rate.
But since inflation has started to slow in recent months, this is the lowest annual increase since 2021.
Older Americans and senior groups have expressed disappointment with the increase, which they say does not reflect changing spending after years of high spending. inflation and price increases.
In Irvine, which is notoriously expensive, the benefits would expire in just 6.73 days
Beginning in 2025, the average benefit for retired workers will be approximately $1,976 per month
The GOBankingRates study exposes how high inflation and rising costs of living are taking a toll on seniors living on fixed incomes – making it impossible for millions of people to rely solely on Social Security
Millions of Americans will wait to see whether Donald Trump will make good on his campaign promise to cut taxes on Social Security benefits
The study comes as economists have warned that Trump’s plans for Social Security could weaken the program’s solvency, exacerbating existing funding problems.
He has promised to cut taxes on Social Security benefits, which about 40 percent of retirees currently pay.
Simply eliminating the tax on Social Security benefits, without making other changes to the program to offset that revenue loss, would hit already dwindling finances, experts warn.
According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Trump’s plans would bankrupt Social Security within six years.
That is three years earlier than existing forecasts.
At that point, beneficiaries would see across-the-board cuts to the benefits that millions of Americans rely on.
“We believe President Trump’s campaign proposals would dramatically worsen Social Security’s finances,” the CRFB budget group said in a statement blog post last month.
Any changes to the program would require at least 60 votes in the Senate.
“It’s hard for me to imagine that Democrats would be willing to give votes to cross that 60-vote threshold and weaken Social Security’s solvency,” said Charles Blahous, senior research strategist at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, who also served as chairman. a public trustee for Social Security and Medicare, told CNBC.
“I think it would give a lot of Republicans heartburn too,” he said.