Tens of millions of Americans rely on Social Security for a huge portion of their income in retirement. Millions more expect Social Security to be there in the future when they need it, either for retirement benefits at the end of their careers or for disability benefits if something happens to them before then.

Yet the financial news from Social Security has been dire for a long time. Based on demographic trends and the rising number of retirees making claims on the program, Social Security's trust funds are expected to run out of reserves sometime in the mid-2030s. That gives lawmakers only about a dozen years to figure out what they're going to do about the potential financial shortfall in the program.

If Washington does nothing, the revenue Social Security gets will be enough to pay only around 80% of current benefit entitlements. Based on the possibility of that 20% haircut in the future, some people are changing their minds about waiting longer to take Social Security, instead figuring they should get what they can before cuts affect their monthly checks.

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Source Fool.com