Wyomingites who have paid into Social Security throughout their working lives could see their benefits cut unless Congress acts to shore up the program.

Program trustees released a report suggesting monthly checks could be cut by up to 22% by 2032. One in five Americans receives benefits and Social Security is the biggest source of income for many people who can no longer work.

Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs for AARP, pointed to recent polling showing eight in 10 people age 50 or older do not want lawmakers to cut Social Security to save it, as they did in 1983.

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“The last thing they need to be doing, when prices for everything are going up and people are stretched so thin, is to look at cutting Social Security even further,” Sweeney contended. “What they need to do is shore up the finances without cutting the benefits that people have earned.”

The revenue shortfall is largely due to declining fertility and immigration rates, which means fewer workers are contributing Social Security payroll taxes. But the program is far from doomed. According to the Center on Economic and Policy Research, the shortfall is less than half the cost of increased military spending called for in the Trump administration’s 2027 budget.

Social Security has long been one of the government’s most popular programs, and Sweeney pointed out it is the most effective anti-poverty program in the nation’s history. It also has a significant economic impact.

“If anything were to happen to Social Security, it’s about $3 billion in economic impact for Wyoming,” Sweeney reported. “That’s a big deal. That’s going to really blow a hole in the state’s economy if Congress doesn’t fix Social Security by the time the money runs out.”

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has reintroduced legislation to expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 and make the program solvent for the next 75 years by removing the payroll tax cap. Currently, billionaires contribute as much to the program as someone earning $185,000 a year.

Sweeney stressed Wyoming voters should be asking congressional candidates hard questions before November’s midterm elections.

“The people who we elect are going to be the people having to decide what to do,” Sweeney emphasized. “It’s really important to be asking questions of our politicians and the candidates who are running for office, what their plan is, and do their ideas for how to fix Social Security line up with what we want?”