Congress just passed the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012,” which extends last year’s reduction in FICA tax from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. It also extends jobless benefits for the rest of 2012. Meanwhile, the President’s budget projects that Social Security will now be bankrupt in 2022, rather than 2036 as was reported last year.
It seems like the bill should actually be called the “Let’s Hope Americans Aren’t Paying Enough Attention To Realize That We Stole Money From Social Security To Buy Votes And Get Reelected Act.”
They are destroying a program that is vital to our country in order to put a little money into Americans’ pockets to get votes in November. How will we repair this dramatic shortfall? How soon will Social Security go bankrupt if our economy suffers another downturn?
Bankruptcy isn’t a quarter century away anymore; now, it is only a decade away. This means that people who are already on the program will have to deal with the bankruptcy of Social Security.
What will happen when Social Security goes bankrupt? Your prospects and clients don’t know the right answer. So you need to know that answer so you can help them plan for it.
The answer used to be disclosed in our annual Social Security statements, but those were discontinued in 2009. They promised it would be available on the website at www.ssa.gov, but the website says that they cannot afford to provide that information.