Now that Donald Trump has won the presidential election, Americans are watching to see how he handles many economic, foreign, and domestic issues.

One of the main concerns during the election campaign was social security, which is currently facing a funding crisis that will see benefits cut by around 20 percent as early as 2035.

Trump has been outspoken in his promise not to cut Social Security benefits once he becomes president.

“I will not cut a dime from Social Security or Medicare,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Florida last July. “And I’m not going to increase the retirement age by one day.”

In other interviews, however, Trump talked about how he would solve Social Security’s funding crisis and seemed to indicate that cuts were on the horizon.

“You can do a lot in terms of rights, in terms of cuts,” Trump told CNBC in March.

A few weeks later, he said in an interview with the conservative news outlet Breitbart that he would “never do anything that would jeopardize or harm Social Security or Medicare.”

A report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) found that Trump’s economic plans would “dramatically worsen Social Security’s finances.” His policies would increase Social Security’s funding gap by $2.3 trillion, according to the CRFB.

Newsweek contacted Trump via email for comment.

More than 72 million Americans rely on Social Security, and some of Trump’s other calls to get rid of taxes could inadvertently create a bigger financial hole when it comes to benefits for seniors, experts say.

The funding crisis could be exacerbated by Trump’s calls to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, which would further shrink the SSA trust fund. In addition, Trump promised voters that he would stop taxing tips, implement tariffs and deport more undocumented immigrants, all of which could result in less money going to fund Social Security.

“The Trump campaign floated the idea of ​​eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits months ago, but it’s hard to see such a proposal seeing the light of day,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University, told me. of Tennessee in Martin. Newsweek. “Taxes on Social Security benefits, especially for a growing aging population in the United States, raise significant revenue for the federal government and would further increase the deficit if eliminated.”

Staffing for the Social Security Administration is also an issue during Trump’s second term.

“Republicans have prominently advocated for department staffing cuts in recent years, and the result has been longer wait times for recipients who are having trouble receiving benefits,” Beene said.

Michael Ryan, a financial expert and founder of michaelryanmoney.com, said Social Security reform should focus on a few critical factors.

First, Americans are now living longer and having fewer children, changing the ratio of workers to beneficiaries. The payroll tax cap also means that higher earners contribute a smaller percentage of their income.

“Major, sudden changes to Social Security are unlikely because of the program’s popularity and importance to so many voters,” Ryan said. “But incremental changes? They are certainly possible.”