? the OP proposed raising the contribution limit & also hinted at some means testing "and you can't afford to live" -- which combined would absolutely be enough to close the gap depending on how aggressive you are with these changes.
I would let government decide “you cant afford to live” as much as I would let OJ Simpson date my daughter. but that would be a hoot as two parties controlling the government change. while one is in power, 99.99% of retirees would qualify, the other - 0.000065% :)
vacuous anti-government take that doesn’t really do anything to contribute to the discussion, imo. essentially “keep the government out of my social security!”
Revenues -> Eliminate Tax Max without Benefit Credit (parent's #2) closes the gap by 68%.
Benefit Formula -> Slow Benefit Growth for Top Half of Earners (closest option to parent's #3) closes the gap by 41%.
Together these keep the program solvent indefinitely.