Most of us pay income and payroll taxes on all of our earnings, all year round. A portion of this taxed income goes toward Social Security, the vital program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to almost one in five people in the US.

But by March 6 – just a little over two months into 2025 – millionaires stop contributing to Social Security for the year.

Contributions to Social Security are not linked to how much money you make; once someone reaches an income of $176,100 in 2025, they stop paying in. This means a millionaire’s effective tax rate is less than 1 percent  — and they aren’t required to pay anything for their unearned investment income. This is compared to the 6.2 percent that any worker making less than $176,100 pays.

The burden of paying for Social Security rests on working class people in this country. A more equitable system would scrap this income cap, which would do wonders for the program’s long- term financial health.

Elon Musk’s Plan: Slash Jobs and Spread Misinformation

Just a few days before we reached the March 6 Millionaires Day milestone, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that it aims to cut some 7,000 jobs to align with Trump’s executive order carried out by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team. What would these staff cuts mean? Longer wait times, shuttering some of the 1,200 field offices across the country, and less in-person support applying for and navigating benefits. Currently, more than 60% of people are unable to get through to someone on the phone. These problems will get worse – and new ones will certainly be created – because of Trump’s proposed cuts.

It is perhaps not a coincidence that Musk is also launching false attacks on Social Security. A few weeks ago he caused a stir by claiming that millions of dead people were receiving Social Security benefits – an absurd claim that has been repeatedly amplified by Donald Trump. More recently he called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” – which is equally absurd. Social Security benefits do depend on working people paying in each year, but this is true of all government spending. People are willing to buy and hold US government bonds because they know that the economy is strong and people will keep paying taxes they owe. Perhaps Musk would also call US government bonds a Ponzi scheme, but saying it doesn’t make it so.

If we do nothing, Social Security will be able to pay the vast majority of benefits for the indefinite future. There is, however, a modest shortfall in funds to keep the Social Security Trust Fund going. It is important to bolster this program: Most elderly beneficiaries (65 percent) rely on Social Security for the majority of their income, and close to half of the elderly would be poor without Social Security. Around 7.4 million people receive disabled worker benefits from Social Security (CBPP).

The solution is simple: If we apply the payroll tax to all of the income of Musk and other ultra-wealthy, we can pay full scheduled benefits indefinitely. Scrapping the payroll tax cap to make every earner pay the same tax rate, along with modest changes to the program, could eliminate the shortfall and allow for crucial expansions to benefits.