The asset reserves of the Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which pays benefits to retirees, will become depleted in 2033, the same year as last year's estimate, with 77% of benefits payable at that time, the Social Security Board of Trustees reported Wednesday.
The combined OASI and disability trust funds are set to have enough dedicated revenue to pay all scheduled benefits until 2034, one year earlier than projected in 2024, with 81% of benefits payable at that time.
“This report shows that Social Security is fully affordable, costing only about 6 percent of GDP at the end of the 21st century," Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Wednesday in a statement. "It has a modest funding shortfall, which is still years away. There is no question Congress will act to avert the shortfall, as it always has in the past. The question is what Congress will do."
Altman said there are two options: "Bringing more money into Social Security, or reducing benefits. Any politician who doesn’t support increasing Social Security’s revenue is, by default, supporting benefit cuts."
The 2025 Annual Report to Congress announced:
- The reserves of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds declined by $67 billion in 2024 to a total of $2.72 trillion.
- The total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income in 2025 and remain higher throughout the 75-year projection period.
"To ensure we serve the public and deliver high-quality service to the 185 million people who work and pay payroll taxes for Social Security and the 70 million beneficiaries who will receive benefits during 2025, the financial status of the trust funds remains a top priority for the Trump Administration,” Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement. “Congress, along with the Social Security Administration and others committed to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, must work together to protect and strengthen the trust funds for the millions of Americans who rely on it — now and in the future — for a secure retirement or in the event of a disability."
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