5 Warren Buffett Ideas That Could Actually Save Social Security

As part of your retirement readiness, you're constantly calculating issues like whether you should diversify your portfolio and when you should start taking Social Security benefits. But the future of Social Security has been in the news a lot lately, and you might be starting to worry whether it will be around long enough for it to truly benefit you.

Fortunately, plenty of financial experts have spent time thinking about how to ensure Social Security continues to benefit American workers. Among their number is Warren Buffett, perhaps the best-known, most successful investor in modern history. Buffett, a long-time philanthropist, is older than Social Security itself and is a strong proponent of America's commitment to protecting its older retired workers.

Just how would he change things? Keep reading to get Buffett's top insights into Social Security's future.

Only a certain amount of your earnings are subject to Social Security payroll taxes. The exact amount can vary from year to year, but for the 2025 tax year, the taxable maximum is $176,100, which is an increase of nearly 4.5% from the 2024 tax year. If you make less than that amount, 100% of your earnings are subject to the tax, while those making more than the taxable maximum only see a portion of their earnings taxed.

Back in 2005, when Warren Buffett spoke to shareholders about how to make Social Security last, the taxable earnings maximum was just $90,000. Per Buffett, this meant higher-income individuals like himself weren't contributing as much as they could to Social Security, a problem he referred to as "sort of nonsense in this society." As a solution, he proposed "[lifting] the $90,000 way up. In fact, I might apply it, you know, on all incomes."

Thanks in part to inflation, the $90,000 limit has risen in the 25 years since Buffett's remarks. But to keep Social Security afloat, the SSA might need to take his advice and eliminate the taxable maximum entirely.

Buffett, who was born in 1930, also advocated for raising the full retirement age as he watched Americans' life expectancies increase during his lifetime. At the same 2005 shareholder meeting, he said, "I would certainly increase the retirement age…the world in 2005 is much different than the world in 1937, in terms of longevity prospects and the ability to function productively."

In 1930, the average life expectancy for Americans was just 58 for men and 62 for women. This meant fewer people met the original Social Security full retirement age of 65, an age more Americans now live past. In fact, today's life expectancy is 75.8 years for men and 81.1 years for women.

The full retirement age has increased since Buffett's shareholder speech to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. However, if American life expectancies continue to increase while Social Security resources continue to dwindle, the full retirement age might need to be bumped up again.

Back in 2011, then-President Barack Obama proposed a tax principle he called the "Buffett Rule," which is Buffett's own belief that higher earners should be subject to higher taxes.

Based on Buffett's observations about how his secretary's tax rate was higher than his own, even though she earned far less, the Buffett Rule emphasized taxing anyone earning over $1 million per year at a rate of no less than 30%.

For better or worse, the Buffett Rule has never been successfully enacted into legislation. However, if Social Security's resources continue to dwindle, Buffett-inspired suggestions like taxing millionaires and billionaires at the same rate as middle-class families could be a key way to keep the SSA funded.

Buffett hasn't directly said that he thinks the Social Security payroll tax rate (currently 6.2% for employees and 6.2% by employers) should be raised. However, in 2024, Buffett mentioned his company's $5 billion federal tax bill, then stated he hopes the company will always "pay substantial federal income taxes."

In fact, Buffett believes that if 800 other high-earning, higher-performing companies matched Berkshire Hathaway's taxes, then zero U.S. citizens would need to "pay a dime of federal taxes — no income taxes, no Social Security taxes, no estate taxes."

From Buffett's perspective, then, increasing tax rates for the wealthiest companies could help compensate for the U.S. government's financial deficit without compromising programs like Social Security.

Clearly, Buffett has strong beliefs about how the country he calls home should treat its senior citizens. In the same 2005 meeting, he said, "We try to provide good schools and health and everything for the young overall as part of our overall responsibility. I believe that a rich country should be doing the same for the older people."

Similarly, Buffett told attendees that he believed "anything that would take Social Security payments below their present guaranteed level is a mistake." If you agree with him, consider making your voice heard at the local, state, and federal levels, letting officials know you support prioritizing care for retired workers.

Depending on how well you've prepared for retirement, you might not need to rely as much on Social Security as you think you do. However, the financial cushion provided by Social Security is helpful for any senior, no matter how much they've stashed away in their retirement savings accounts.

Hopefully, proposals like Buffett's will help ensure your Social Security benefits checks continue to arrive on time throughout the rest of your retirement — and throughout your grandkids' retirements too.