AARP And FICA Base

      From a report from AARP: 

… The share of gross domestic product (GDP) subject to Social Security’s payroll tax, the program’s primary income source, has declined steadily over the past four decades, falling from 41 percent in 1984 to 34 percent in 2025.

If payroll tax revenue had not fallen relative to GDP, Social Security would have collected an additional $10.8 trillion between 1984 and 2034.

That additional revenue would have provided Social Security with enough resources to pay full benefits until 2059, 25 years longer than the Social Security trustees now project. 

Some lawmakers have proposed lifting the payroll tax cap and taxing some investment income for high earners, which would bring revenue as a share of GDP back toward historical levels, strengthening Social Security’s finances without burdening lower- and middle-income workers. …