Should Taxes Be Raised or Benefits Cut to Fix Social Security? The Public's Response Wasn't Even Close
According to the latest snapshot from the Social Security Administration (SSA), around 41.9 million retired workers are receiving a monthly benefits check, and of those workers, some 61% count on that check for at least half of their monthly income. Social Security's importance in helping seniors meet their financial obligations simply can't be overstated.
What also can't be said enough is just how much trouble America's most important social program is in over the long term. The latest annual report from the Social Security Board of Trustees pegged 2022 and 2034 as major inflection points. Beginning in 2022, the program will begin to pay out more in benefits than it's generating in revenue as a result of the ongoing retirement of baby boomers and lengthening life expectancies. By 2034, the nearly $3 trillion in asset reserves that Social Security once had will be completely depleted. If this were to happen, the Trustees have estimated that a 23% cut to the benefits of current and future retirees would be needed to ensure its solvency through 2091.
Image source: Getty Images.
Source: Fool.com
