Normally, Social Security's Office of Chief Actuary (OCA) updates its projections of the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds once a year in an annual Trustees Report that comes out sometime in the first half of the year. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the OCA has issued a special update. If I am reading this correctly -- and I don't find it to be a model of clarity -- the date upon which the combined Trust Funds will run out of money goes from 2035 to 2034. I don't see separate projections for the Retirement and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance Trust Fund.
Always remember two things when considering the future of the Trust Funds. First, it's extremely unlikely that any future Congress will allow the Trust Funds to run out of money. Second, even if they do run out of money, partial benefits could still be paid out of then current revenues, perhaps something like 80% of what's supposed to be paid.
Will be very interesting to see if Biden is truly on board with this program. We he go to war for social security and medicare or will we have "special bipartisan commissions" and talk of striking a "Grand Bargain" with the President Elects republican friends. Hope Scranton Joe is the real deal but not getting my hopes up. Always a well connected but poor bipartisan billionaire in need of a billion dollar tax cut.
ReplyDeleteThere is no choice. You can tax all the rich people more, there just isnt enough of them to cover the cost of the program. The decades overdue tax increase is going to happen. The sooner the lower. It is the only way.
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