Did you know that, unlike most Americans, high-income earners do not have to pay Social Security taxes on all their wages? In fact, millionaires are done paying their Social Security taxes for all of 2022 as of TODAY. For the rest of the country, employees will continue contributing 6.2% of their income to Social Security, with employers contributing another 6.2% on their behalf as well. People who own their own businesses are required to pay the entire 12.4% tax themselves. 

We need to change the law so that more income is subject to Social Security taxes, and the income of high paid workers and millionaires is not excluded.  

Under current law, individuals do not have to pay Social Security taxes on any income they make above $147,000 in 2022. This limit, or cap, on Social Security taxes for those with a high income has left the Social Security Trust Fund without the money it needs in the long term to pay critical benefits to retirees, widow(er)s, surviving children, and people with disabilities. And as wage inequality has grown, the gap in funding for Social Security has increased because people with very high salaries pay no Social Security taxes on those higher earnings, yet wages have not gone up significantly for lower- and middle-income wage earners. In 1982 approximately 90% of all earnings were subject to the Social Security tax. In 2020, only 83% of earnings were subject to the Social Security tax. This means that not only are the rich getting richer, but they are also taking that money away from the Social Security Trust Fund. 

We created the Social Security program to ensure that older adults were not left in poverty as they aged. Wealthy individuals who have benefited from huge financial gains during the pandemic must contribute to the well-being of the people in this country. 

Legislation in Congress such as the Social Security 2100 Act would change the law so that those at the top of the income scale pay into the Social Security Trust Fund as they should. We can’t give a free pass to the wealthy at the expense of workers, older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. Show your support on Twitter by using this Social Media Toolkit from our friends at Social Security Works TODAY from 2-4 PM Eastern.