Senior Poverty Surges as Social Security Funding Gap Deepens

New Census Bureau data show that the share of adults 65 and older living in poverty under the Supplemental Poverty Measure climbed to 15.4 percent in 2025, up from 9.4 percent in 2020. That translates to more than 10 million seniors now below the SPM poverty threshold, even as the overall U.S. poverty rate fell to 10.2 percent in 2025. The increase occurs alongside concerns that the Social Security retirement trust fund could run out of reserves by 2032, potentially triggering automatic benefit cuts.

Newsweek

The Census Bureau’s report highlights that the Supplemental Poverty Measure accounts for taxes, housing costs, and medical expenses—factors that have risen sharply since the pandemic. The 2026 Social Security Trustees Report projects that, without legislative action, incoming payroll taxes would cover only about 78 percent of scheduled benefits after the 2032 shortfall, implying a 22 percent reduction for all beneficiaries. Social Security currently lifts 28.8 million people out of poverty each year, making it the primary anti-poverty program for seniors.

Newsweek

Drew Powers, founder of Powers Financial Group, described the situation as “a real retirement crisis” and noted that today’s retirees have endured “dramatic boom and bust cycles” and rising costs for housing and medical care. Both experts stress that the looming cuts could push many seniors deeper into poverty, increasing reliance on families and other social programs.

Newsweek

• “We have a real retirement crisis in this country,” — Drew Powers, the founder

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• “Retirees today have gone through dramatic boom and bust cycles—dot com, banking crisis, covid—and have had to navigate corporate downsizing as they jumped from employer to employer,” — Drew Powers, the founder

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• “Social Security already keeps more older Americans out of poverty than any other federal program, so a significant reduction in benefits after the trust fund reaches its projected 2032 shortfall could turn today's affordability problem into a much larger retirement crisis,” — Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin

Newsweek

• “A cut to benefits could push many seniors deep into poverty, leaving it to their loved ones or other social programs to pick up the slack, all coming at a great economic cost,” — Power

Newsweek

Lawmakers face growing pressure to address the funding gap before automatic reductions take effect. Historically, Congress has acted to prevent cuts, but no consensus plan has emerged.

Newsweek