Social Security shortfall could mean more than $6,000 in annual losses for average Long Island retiree
Around 45.3% of Long Island seniors over 70 said Social Security was their only source of retirement income in 2023. Credit: Getty Images/Douglas Rissing
Most Americans are unaware of a projected 2032 shortfall in Social Security retirement funds, a new survey found — even though the projected deficit could ultimately cost Long Islanders billions in retirement income each year.
Without action from Congress, the coming funds shortage would mean a 22% reduction in payable retirement and survivor benefits, according to the latest trustees report from the Social Security Administration.
Only 1 in 5 Americans said they were "very aware" of the projected shortfall, according to a recent TIAA survey.
"I think the typical retiree, or Long Islander who is close to retiring, is assuming what’s here today will continue and not necessarily be cut. That’s what they’re generally planning on. The reality is, we don’t know what we don’t know," said David Frisch, a certified financial planner and CEO of Frisch Financial Group in Melville.
What Newsday Found
- Social Security benefits could be cut 22% by 2032 if Congress does not address a projected funding shortfall, a potentially major hit for Long Island retirees.
- Payroll tax revenue is under pressure from lower immigration and fertility rates, while the retirement trust fund has been drawing down reserves since 2021.
- Congress faces pressure to act as many Americans are already cutting retirement savings because of today’s financial strain.
In the meantime, regardless of potential future cuts, "living on Long Island is getting more expensive," he said. "Some Long Islanders can’t necessarily plan for 2032 when they’re struggling with today."
Nearly 481,000 Long Island retirees received Social Security benefits as of December 2025, according to the Social Security Administration. The payouts totaled more than $1.13 billion a month to retired workers across Long Island, or roughly $2,355 per person.
The average Long Island retiree could lose the equivalent of about $518 a month, or $6,217 a year, if the projected 22% reduction were applied to those benefits, according to a Newsday calculation based on 2025 federal data. Over the course of a year, based on 2025 benefits, a 22% reduction in retirement payments could mean around $3 billion in lost Social Security income for Long Islanders.
Joseph Renna, 71, of East Meadow, said he’s more concerned about what the Social Security shortage means for his children than for himself. Besides Social Security, he collects a small pension from a 20-year teaching career.
"If I have to cut back and sacrifice a little, that’s not a problem. I worry about my children, who are in their 40s, and in 25 years, may need to retire," he said. "I have no forgiveness for the politicians who care more about getting reelected than addressing solving the issue."
Even without benefit reductions, 43% of Americans around the country say they’ve cut back or stopped contributing to their retirement savings over the past year because they needed to cover daily expenses, according to the TIAA survey published in October.
Financing for Social Security retirement benefits relies primarily on payroll taxes, an income stream projected to decrease as fewer laborers enter the workforce, the Social Security Administration trustees' report said, citing lower immigration and fertility rates.
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which finances retirement benefits, has been drawing down reserves to finance benefits since 2021, according to the report.
Among Long Island seniors over 70, around 45.3% said Social Security was their only source of retirement income in 2023, Newsday has reported.
The Island’s senior population grew 24% between 2013 and 2023, and the number of seniors living in poverty grew more than double that rate — 62% — during the same period, Newsday has reported.
"As our population ages, maintaining Social Security will necessarily require a larger share of our nation’s resources than in the past," said Kathleen Romig, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research and policy institute.
Potential cuts to benefits would especially burden individuals with a low income, she said in a June report.
She pointed to net negative immigration levels last year, driven by strict immigration policies implemented by the Trump administration, as a significant contributor to the long-term shortfall in Social Security.
"Even if they themselves will not become eligible to receive benefits in their lifetimes, immigrants improve the solvency of a program that provides almost all workers with a foundation of income for their retirement," Romig said, highlighting the contribution that immigrant laborers make to Social Security’s finances through payroll taxes.
Republican legislation passed last year that raised the standard deduction for tax filers also means a nearly $170 billion reduction in funds for Social Security over the next decade, she said.
News of the coming shortfall "should be a wake-up call" for Congress, said AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan.
"Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives and they deserve to count on it when they retire," she said in a June press statement.
Among the 1,000 TIAA survey respondents, 38% said lawmakers should prioritize Social Security reforms and 39% said the federal government is primarily responsible for "ensuring Americans can maintain their retirement income."
Long Island Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) announced in mid-June that he introduced a bill to establish a bipartisan commission to tackle the problem of future financing for Social Security.
For retirees, or Long Islanders close to retiring, preparing for less income from Social Security could include saving more and cutting nonessential expenses, Frisch said. It could also mean working longer, to put off digging into retirement savings.
Contact local representatives to voice your concerns, he said. Otherwise, "we kind of just have to wait and see."
Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
