text: Absent reform , by 2038 , Social Security 's annual deficit would require cutting benefits by about a quarter ( 26 percent ) or raising payroll taxes by about a third ( 35 percent ) just to restore balance for that year .
  
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  Social Security benefits would have to be cut by 26 percent or payroll taxes would have increase by 3 percent in order to fix the 2038 balance if reforms aren 't made .