Gillibrand Presses Trump On Possible Plans To Raise Social Security Retirement Age

Gillibrand Presses Trump On Possible Plans To Raise Social Security Retirement Age

Oct 3, 2025

Gillibrand: "Americans deserve to retire with dignity - not spend their retirement struggling to make ends meet."

There are approximately 3.8 million current Social Security beneficiaries in NY

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee, is leading the charge to press President Donald Trump directly on his administration's threats to raise the Social Security retirement age, which would amount to a benefit cut for millions of Americans. This week, she sent two letters to Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano to sound the alarm about the dangerous ramifications if this change were to come to fruition.

"Increasing the Social Security retirement age would be devastating for millions of older Americans and for working-age adults nearing retirement, and it would amount to yet another broken promise by the Trump administration," said Senator Gillibrand. "Americans deserve to retire with dignity, not spend their golden years worrying that this administration will keep raising the bar on retirement. As ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee, I'm demanding answers on whether the White House plans to raise the retirement age, and I'll fight these efforts if they persist."

The letters come shortly after Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano signaled he would be open to raising the retirement age during a Fox Business appearance. Even before Bisignano's latest comments, Republican policymakers, including the authors of Project 2025, have sought to raise the retirement age. Bisignano's comments raise new concerns about whether the administration will enact these proposals, putting retirement benefits at risk.

Senator Gillibrand warned that raising the retirement age would put many low and middle-income workers at risk of economic insecurity. If the retirement age is raised to 69, as some proposals have suggested, a median-age retiree turning 62 in 2034 would ultimately lose nearly $100,000 over a decade of receiving benefits. Even worse, raising the retirement age to 69 would not change the Congressional Budget Office's projection that Social Security funds would be exhausted around 2034. Actually making Social Security solvent will require the wealthy paying their fair share.

The first letter, co-signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), seeks answers by October 13th on whether the White House is seeking to raise the retirement age. Senator Gillibrand's solo letter, which also raises concern about his comments on raising the retirement age, additionally asks Commissioner Bisignano to join her at a Social Security field office in New York to discuss the impacts DOGE cuts are having on Social Security Administration operations and his new leadership team's strategic plans for customer service and workflows.

Senator Gillibrand is part of Senate Democrats' Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration's attack on Americans' Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans' agenda and their continued cuts to Americans' Social Security services and benefits.

The text of Senator Gillibrand's solo letter can be found here.

The text of the joint letter can be found here and below:

Dear President Trump:

We write today regarding our concerns that your administration has plans to raise the Social Security retirement age, cutting essential benefits that tens of millions of Americans have earned and need in order to enjoy a secure retirement.

Last week, Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano indicated in a Fox Business interview that the administration is considering raising the retirement age-only to walk back his comments a few hours later. Commissioner Bisignano's comments-and immediate about-face-left millions of Americans alarmed and confused about the status of their Social Security benefits.

Specifically, on September 19, 2025, when asked whether he would consider raising the age for full retirement benefits during an interview with Fox Business, Commissioner Bisignano stated "everything's being considered and will be considered." His comments quickly made headlines, and shortly after, the Commissioner retracted his statement, saying "raising the retirement age is not under consideration." Commissioner Bisignano's wavering comments reflect a lingering question over how your administration will treat retirement benefits. Long before Commissioner Bisignano's recent comments, Republican policymakers have suggested raising the retirement age. Such policy proposals have also been endorsed by the authors of Project 20256-the policy roadmap that has been highly influential in your decision-making in your second administration. That these proposals have found support in the Republican party is especially concerning given Senate Republicans' recent willingness to abandon longstanding procedural requirements to push through their unpopular agenda with just 50 votes. This-combined with the Commissioner's comments-raises fresh alarm that these ideas to cut Social Security benefits could become reality. If the Social Security retirement age is increased under your watch, you would be breaking your repeated promises to protect and preserve Americans' benefits.

Raising Social Security's full retirement age would force Americans to work longer, "cut[ting] benefits for nearly three-quarters of Americans" and putting many low- and middle-income workers at risk of economic insecurity "once they leave the workforce." For example, if the full retirement age was raised to 69-as some proposals have suggested-a "median-wage retiree turning 62 in 2034" would see "their monthly benefit cut between $345 and $741"-and would ultimately "lose between $46,104 and $99,252 after 10 years of receiving Social Security." These cuts would have the biggest impact on low- and middle-income retirees, who are more likely to rely on Social Security as their retirement income.

Further, these changes would provide little long-term benefits for program stability. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that increasing the retirement age to 69 "would not change CBO's projection that the balance of Social Security's [Old-Age and Survivors Insurance] and [Disability Insurance] trust funds, were they combined, would be exhausted" around 2034. Social Security is low- and middle-income older Americans' lifeline during retirement. If you raise the retirement age, you will be cutting these critical benefits-without a guaranteed solution to Social Security's insolvency. And you will be ignoring other options, including raising the payroll tax income cap so that the wealthy pay their fair share to Social Security, that would protect benefits. Americans deserve to retire with dignity-not spend their retirement struggling to make ends meet.

Following Commissioner Bisignano's comments, Americans deserve clarity over what will happen to their hard-earned retirement benefits. To help us understand your plans regarding the retirement age, we request answers to the following questions no later than October 13, 2025:

1. Were Commissioner Bisignano's comments on Fox Business consistent with the White House's stance on raising the retirement age?

2. Will you commit to vetoing any legislation passed by Congress that increases the age of eligibility for Social Security?

3. Has your administration conducted any analysis on the impact raising the retirement age would have on Americans' benefits? a. If so, how many people would see their Social Security benefits cut as a result of this increase, and which groups would be the most impacted by this decision?

4. Have you considered other ways to address Social Security's insolvency that do not result in large-scale benefit cuts for millions of Americans?

5. Have you or anyone in the White House discussed raising the retirement age with Commissioner Bisignano or other leaders at SSA?

a. Did you or anyone in the White House discuss your administration's stance on raising the retirement age with the Commissioner after the issue was raised during his Fox Business interview?

b. Did you or anyone in the White House urge SSA to retract the Commissioner's comments on raising the retirement age? Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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