Event Recap: Saving the Trust Funds

On October 22, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget hosted Saving the Trust Funds: New Solutions for Social Security and Medicare. The event, part of the Committee’s newly launched Trust Fund Solutions Initiative, gathered experts to discuss novel solutions to protect the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.

Watch the video below:

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, kicked off the event by emphasizing Social Security’s importance and the impact insolvency could have on retirees. MacGuineas reflected on how solvency discussions often fall victim to demagoguery and politicization and, to help combat this, announced the launch of both the Committee’s Trust Funds Solutions Initiative and its Tell the Truth campaign.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Administrator of the Centers on Medicare & Medicaid Services, gave the first keynote speech. Oz walked through the findings of the 2025 Medicare Trustees Report, highlighting who the program serves and the fiscal pressures it faces. Oz also discussed the Administration’s priorities in reforming the Medicare and Medicaid programs including their focus on program integrity.

The first panel, “Novel Solutions for Social Security and Medicare,” was moderated by Rachel Snyderman of the Bipartisan Policy Center and featured Marc Goldwein and Mark Sarney of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Chris Pope of the Manhattan Institute, and Ben Ritz of the Progressive Policy Institute. Goldwein and Sarney discussed the Committee’s first two Trust Fund Solutions – the Employer Compensation Tax and a Social Security COLA cap – while Ritz and Pope discussed their proposals to reform Social Security  and Medicare, respectively.

The second panel, “What’s Next for the Trust Funds?” was moderated by Mike Murphy of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and featured Amy Bassano of Health Management Associates, Romina Boccia of the Cato Institute, Anna Bonelli of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and Jack Smalligan of the Urban Institute. They discussed the consequences of reaching trust fund insolvency for both Medicare and Social Security, highlighted how the trust funds affect the nation’s fiscal health, and dove into the politics of reform.

The event concluded with a keynote speech by Erskine Bowles, former Co-Chair of the 2010 National Commission for Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and current Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Board Member. Bowles emphasized that restoring solvency to Social Security can be done, and that it’s necessary to protect the folks who depend on the program. Bowles pointed to the successes of the 2010 Fiscal Commission and used it to highlight the importance of building trust across partisan divides.

The Committee thanks all who attended and made the event such a success.