The automatic benefit cut that Derek Schmidt's July 3, 2025 vote brought closer would strip $3.2 billion a year from Kansas retirees and survivors once the retirement fund is exhausted, about $520 a month apiece for some 500,000 people, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates.
Schmidt's law trims the income tax paid on benefits, revenue that partly flows into the trust funds, and Social Security's chief actuary prices the added cost at $168.6 billion through 2034. Schmidt's April 2025 budget vote, which decided the outcome, created the room for that tax change. 159,870 people in Kansas's 2nd District were collecting Social Security at the close of 2024.
Derek Schmidt's Votes on Social Security's Finances
- Social Security's Retirement Fund Runs Dry Three Months Earlier After Schmidt's July 2025 Vote. When the House gave the One Big Beautiful Bill Act final approval on July 3, 2025, 218 votes to 214, Derek Schmidt was a yes; in May his vote had been needed to pass the House version 215 to 214. Because retirees now owe less income tax on their checks and part of that tax is credited to Social Security, the program loses revenue: the chief actuary found that "the total net increase in OASDI program cost is estimated to be $168.6 billion" for 2025 to 2034. The retirement trust fund's projected shortfall has moved to the "fourth quarter of 2032, three months earlier than previously expected."
- Kansas Retirees Face an Automatic Cut Sooner Under the Law Schmidt's Deciding April 2025 Budget Vote Made Room For. Derek Schmidt voted for the Senate's version of the budget blueprint, H.Con.Res. 14, when the House accepted it 216 to 214 on April 10, 2025; a no from him would have left the count deadlocked, and the blueprint would have failed. It opened room for tax changes that "increase the deficit by not more than $4,500,000,000,000", and the lower tax on benefits was paid for from that room. Once the retirement fund is empty, the program can pay out only what comes in, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says "all retirees are projected to be subject to an immediate 24% benefit cut upon trust fund exhaustion."
What Derek Schmidt's Votes Mean for Social Security in Kansas
- 118,789 retired workers in Kansas's 2nd District face that cut sooner. Social Security Administration figures for December 2024 show 159,870 beneficiaries in Kansas's 2nd District: 118,789 retired workers, 19,697 disabled workers and the rest survivors, spouses and children, out of 599,566 across Kansas. Those retired workers are among the retirees projected to take the automatic cut to the retirement program, and the law brings that day closer.
- The average affected Kansas retiree or survivor would lose $520 a month in an automatic cut. If the retirement fund is exhausted, the average monthly loss in Kansas would be $520 for about 500,000 Kansans, 17.8% of the state's people, by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's math, draining $3.2 billion a year from the Kansas economy, roughly 1.3% of state output.
Frequently Asked Questions About Derek Schmidt on Social Security
What is Derek Schmidt's record on Social Security under Trump?
Derek Schmidt's July 2025 yes went to the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which lifts Social Security's costs by $168.6 billion through 2034 by lowering the tax on benefits that helps fund the program, and his April 2025 budget vote decided the blueprint that made room for it. The retirement fund's shortfall is now projected for late 2032. 599,566 Kansans were on Social Security at the end of 2024.
How much would Social Security checks in Kansas shrink because of Derek Schmidt's vote?
Derek Schmidt voted for a law that moves the shortfall three months nearer, and when it arrives the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projects Kansans would lose $520 a month on average, about half a million people and $3.2 billion a year altogether.
How many people get Social Security in Kansas's 2nd District, which Derek Schmidt represents?
Derek Schmidt's district, Kansas's 2nd, counted 159,870 people receiving Social Security in December 2024, 118,789 of them retired workers, by the agency's tally. Those retirees would see the automatic cut once the retirement trust fund is exhausted.
Last updated: 2026-10-27