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Trump’s mass deportation plan could strain retirees’ wallets.
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Immigrants in the country illegally pay taxes that support Social Security and Medicare but don’t receive their benefits.
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Deportations could also increase healthcare costs and shrink the industry’s workforce.
President Donald Trump’s immigration policies could hurt retirees’ wallets and make it harder for them to access healthcare.
Trump said his immigration crackdown would improve the economy and boost American jobs. However, some economists and financial researchers told Business Insider that dramatically reducing the immigrant workforce could drain Social Security and Medicare tax funding, spike housing costs, and contribute to broader inflation.
This comes as America’s 65-and-older population is growing, and the birthrate isn’t keeping up, meaning that the number of working-age taxpayers may not be able to support the growing demand for retirement benefits without population increases from continued immigration.
Trump’s mass deportation plan aims to remove millions of immigrants living in the US illegally. On January 20, Trump declared a national emergency, allowing him to use Pentagon resources for the deportation efforts. He also has begun efforts to limit immigration at the US-Mexico border, and the federal government is reportedly planning to carry out deportation raids this week in major cities.
Trump’s press team did not respond for comment by the time of publication.
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Millions of Americans who rely on Social Security checks — which average $1,976 monthly — may face lower payments in the next decade if the Trump administration carries out large-scale deportations. Some economists told BI deportations could reduce Social Security funding because immigrants living in the US illegally pay the payroll taxes that fund Social Security while being ineligible to receive benefits.
Deportations could reduce the program’s cash flow by $20 billion annually, per an actuarial estimate provided to BI by the Social Security Administration. While a small part of the roughly $1 trillion in benefits paid out a year, this could exacerbate an already dwindling Social Security fund set to dry up by the mid-2030s.
The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy determined immigrants living in the US illegally paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes in 2022. Additionally, the same group paid $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes that year but is not eligible for the benefits.
