A bipartisan group of senators is pushing Congress to extend Social Security’s solvency after the program’s trustees issued a report Tuesday warning that its main retirement trust fund would face a significant shortfall by the fourth quarter of 2032.

"It’s clear now that Congress shouldn’t delay any longer," Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in a joint statement.

"Several of us have been coming together to talk about how we can strengthen Social Security for current and future generations of retirees.

"We say to our colleagues: join us in doing what we were elected to do — legislate on hard issues and protect this lifeline program for our kids and grandkids. Congress has no shortage of ideas, we just need to actually debate them and vote," the statement said.

The report states the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is projected to be depleted in 2032, one quarter earlier than projected last year.

After depletion, incoming revenue would cover about 78% of scheduled benefits, declining to 62% by 2100.

The senators did not offer specific solutions in their statement.

The report cited several illustrative options, including raising the payroll tax rate from 12.4% to 16.65%, cutting all current and future benefits by 25.2%, or cutting benefits by 30.3% only for those becoming eligible in 2026 or later.

Other combinations of tax increases and benefit reductions could also close the gap.

Durbin and Tillis are retiring before the new Congress convenes in January, and Cassidy was ousted in Louisiana’s Republican primary.

But Cassidy and Kaine have spent the past year promoting the creation of a $1.5 trillion investment fund separate from the Social Security trust funds.

The new fund would be structured like a sovereign wealth fund, similar to those used by some countries, while investing broadly in financial markets in a manner comparable to the federal Thrift Savings Plan.

Instead of investing trust fund reserves solely in Treasury securities, the new fund would invest in a mix of stocks, bonds, and other assets.

"Millions of retirees are facing a twenty to twenty-five percent cut in benefits which can throw them into poverty and put a greater strain on their families," Cassidy said in a separate statement Wednesday.

"This latest report from the trustees is proof that Congress must step up now to protect Social Security before it’s too late. It’s only going to cost more and be more difficult to solve the longer we wait," he said.

The senators’ statement came after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Monday that Republicans would advance a plan next year to address the rising cost of mandatory spending programs such as Social Security.

"The reason we are in trouble is because over 74% of federal spending is on autopilot, mandatory spending," Johnson told the "Moon Griffon Show" on KPEL-FM in Lafayette, La.

"That’s your entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and then things like Social Security. They have to be adjusted and fixed. We have a plan to do that next year," Speaker Johnson said.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., said during a subcommittee hearing Wednesday that Congress "needs to get their act together" to address Social Security’s looming shortfall.

"Congress needs to get their act together to address Social Security and the insolvency that’s coming, instead of poking blame at other people whenever it is our duty and our responsibility," Smith said at a hearing with Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano.