The long-term future of Social Security is in the air right now, as the trust fund supplying most of the payments faces depletion in less than 10 years if nothing is done, forcing recipients to receive less money than they do now.

Although the cost of living in the area where a recipient resides does not factor into how much money the person gets from Social Security, it does help paint a better picture of how much a cut in funding would affect the individual. Here are states that would fare the best if there are drastic cuts to the Social Security program.

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States that offer the best senior benefits:

There are three states, according to SeniorStrong and SeniorAdvice, that offer the best benefits to seniors that retire on a budget: Georgia, Hawaii, and Virginia.

Georgia has several "senior-friendly" policies, which include: Zero Social Security tax, low healthcare costs, retirement income adjustments on their state tax returns, and property tax benefits, deductions, and exemptions for seniors over 65.

Seniors in Hawaii see low property taxes and tax exemptions for Social Security income. Although the state has a higher cost of living, seniors in Hawaii see an average household income that’s 33.8% higher than the national average, according to Yahoo Finance. It also has lower healthcare costs.

Virginia is known for its senior living and home care population. The state also has a wide range of doctors who are qualified for Medicare. The state as a whole additionally has a strong economy and low taxes.

Other states that help retirees are Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania because these states do not tax retirement income, including Social Security. Illinois residents pay a flat state income tax of nearly 5%, but all retirement income is exempt.

Nine other states do not tax income, though federal taxes and other state taxes still apply. These states are:

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Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

Alaska, Texas, and Utah are also expected to survive well if there are cuts because they have the youngest percentage of senior citizens. Texas, Alaska, and Utah have 13.2%, 13.1%, and 11.7% of their populations aged 65 and older, according to the Population Resource Bureau.