Can You Fix Social Security? Take the "Challenge"

Bring down a corrupt corporation whose deadly bioweapons have turned a city's population into mindless zombies. Save the Milky Way galaxy from a highly advanced machine race. Combat hordes of turtles and walking mushrooms, and hurdle gaps that plunge to unknown nothingness, to save a princess from an even bigger, spikier turtle.

All of these are plots of some of video gaming's greatest titles.

And I'd argue that none of them hit as hard as this one:

"Social Security's combined trust fund reserves are projected to be depleted around 2034—less than eight years from now—at which time its income would be able to pay only 81% of the benefits scheduled for its 80 million beneficiaries. …

Ensuring that Social Security stays financially strong means that Congress should evaluate different reform options with complex and wide-ranging impacts—options such as making higher levels of income subject to payroll taxes or raising Social Security's normal retirement age, and then passing the reforms it chooses so they can become law. …

How would you do this?"

That, my friends, is how we're introduced to the Social Security Challenge.

The Social Security Challenge

Hey, all. This is Kyle, and I'm writing solo this week.

The Social Security Challenge is a browser-based game brought to us by the American Academy of Actuaries—a 20,000-member nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association representing all actuaries practicing in the United States.¹ As the aforementioned sizzle text suggests, the Challenge is designed to teach players about the funding cliff Social Security will face in less than a decade from now.

I've been gaming for 40 years,² so I'll level with you: The Challenge isn't exactly going to provide quite the same rush as sniping the other team from midair while bounding from one side of a low-gravity map to the other.

But if you want to better understand America's largest social insurance system—a program that you've likely been paying into your whole life, and that at some point will provide most anyone reading this much-needed financial support in retirement—then believe me when I say it's worth 15 minutes of your time.

Young and the Invested Tip: Curious about how much Social Security you’ll receive? Here’s how to find out.

The game was created by Academy members—actuaries who volunteer their time and energy to educate the public and policymakers about numerous topics, including Social Security.

"These are really dedicated, highly educated and motivated experts who want to bring clarity to what is becoming … really a 'now' issue," says David Mendes, Director, Communications & Public Affairs, at the Academy. "People may think of it as a 'later' issue, but the effects might be [more severe] if the shortfall isn't addressed until it happens in 2034. There's a lot that could be done now. … Acting now provides a lot more flexibility, and a lot more options, to policymakers."

Let's take a look at what you can expect.

The Challenge, Reviewed

I ran through the Social Security Challenge myself, and I'll tell you up front that it's not something you can just breeze through in a minute or two—if you actually want to get something out of it.

The Challenge is divided into two parts. The first is … well, not a challenge so much as it is a leisurely walk through Main Street USA. You explore the city while learning about how Americans think about (and depend on) Social Security, including commonly held concerns and hopes about how it might change in the future.

"The Challenge provides this format because these conversations do happen," Mendes says. "It offers background on some of the issues people talk about, and some of the ideas you might hear about when it comes to Social Security."

It's not Astarion-level dialogue, but I didn't expect it to be. It's an educational game, and the conversations strike the exact tone I'd expect out of an educational game: earnest, to the point of corniness in places. 

But as someone who writes about Social Security on the regular, I was surprised at just how effective these quick sound bites were as a delivery vehicle for explaining the various aspects of the program and how they impact Americans. I'd expect the average player to retain a lot of what they learn along this journey.

We get myriad perspectives, too. Workers who worry about being able to afford higher Social Security taxes. People who believe Social Security won't be around when they retire. Small business owners. Soon-to-be retirees. A beneficiary whose wife passed away, leaving him with half the income.

Young and the Invested Tip: While benefits might be cut, Social Security isn’t in danger of going away completely—that’s just one of these numerous myths surrounding the system.

The second part of the Challenge is where the game gets its name.

It starts at Town Hall, where you listen to council members provide several real-world proposals for turning around Social Security's finances.

"When we talk about the proposals, these aren't Academy proposals—these are scenarios that are drawn from legislation that has been proposed, analyses that have been done by Social Security Administration actuaries, and by stakeholders in the Social Security policy space," Mendes says. "It doesn't include every option that has been proposed or discussed, but it provides a pretty good framework of some of the more common proposals that others have made around Social Security reform."

Then it's up to you to solve what Washington so far hasn't.

You're presented with a list of categories, and for each category you have the option of making some sort of adjustment—say, raising the workers' payroll tax immediately, gradually (in one of two different ways), or not at all. The categories cover adjustments to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), family benefits, normal retirement age (what we often refer to as full retirement age, or FRA), payroll tax rates, and more.

"The data and the calculations are drawn from the 2025 Trustees Report, and more recently, some really detailed analysis that the Office of the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration published last month," Mendes says. "So it really provides us with a timely look."

Young and the Invested Tip: High-net-worth individuals have a different relationship with Social Security. Here’s what you need to know.

Importantly, the Challenge doesn't just ask that you make cuts—it also presents you with options for improving Social Security coverage, including the size of the benefit, who's covered, and other factors.  This part speaks to the balancing act of Social Security's core principles. In the words of the Academy:

• Individual equity: "This means benefits are higher for workers who've earned and contributed more."
• Social adequacy: "This means benefits should largely meet the needs of low-earning workers (and their dependents) who were unable to accumulate enough savings while working."

This isn't a test, but a learning tool, so you can change answers as you'd like to see the impact they'll have on the shortfall. 

My final score would've been enough to keep my parents happy in school … but it wasn't good enough to entirely stave off an eventual Social Security cut. 

While I was able to provide some minor improvements to benefits, even getting this close required making some mighty uncomfortable compromises.

Think you can beat me? Well, I think you can, too—but I also think you'll be shocked not just at what it would take to balance the numbers, but how much more we could theoretically do with Social Security.

Go ahead and take the Challenge for yourself. And while you're there, scroll down; the Challenge page also has a deep well of resources if you want to learn even more about Social Security.

¹ In addition to bringing you the latest in finance with Young and the Invested, I've been moonlighting as the proofreader of Contingencies—the Academy's bimonthly magazine dedicated to issues driving the insurance and financial services industries—for a little over six years. That said, this topic was pitched to YATI through traditional channels, and it was selected because it provides a novel way to talk about a subject (Social Security) that is popular with our readers.

² I did the math, did it again, had myself a little cry, then did it one more time to make sure. I'm probably younger than this fact suggests, but still.

Riley & Kyle

Young and the Invested

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