Face the Facts: Social Security Dollars Won't Be Worth Nearly as Much in 5 or 10 Years
Without taking anything away from Medicare, Social Security is arguably America's most important social program for seniors. The monthly payout to retired workers, which was nearly $1,370 each month, on average, according to the Social Security Administration's July 2017 snapshot, often proves critical in helping seniors meet their financial obligations.
Unfortunately, today's Social Security program is nowhere near the same as that of your parents or grandparents. Once a system that was healthfully funded by working Americans, it is now teetering on disaster. According to the Social Security Board of Trustees' most recent annual report, the Trust is expected to begin paying out more in benefits than it's generating in revenue beginning in 2022. Between 2022 and 2034, some $3 trillion in asset reserves that the program has predominantly built up over the past four decades will be completely wiped out. And when this money disappears, the trustees predict that an across-the-board cut in benefits of up to 23% may be needed to sustain solvency through the year 2091.
This is a pretty grim forecast for new retirees and working Americans set to retire in the years and decades ahead. But if there is a silver lining, it's that this issue is still nearly two decades away.
Source: Fool.com
