Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
Question for SocSec experts:
Conventional wisdom (which is about the sum of my SS knowledge) holds that SS is rapidly going bankrupt, in dire straits, etc.
Kevin Drum keeps saying it's actually in fine shape and just needs a little tweaking.
??
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It's currently in surplus, and continuing to build that surplus while the baby boomers continue to work. Current projections have that surplus starting to diminish in about 2018, about when boomers start retiring. Sometime in 2038 (or maybe later), the surplus is projected to be depleted. After that, it will need outside money to support it.
So, depending on what constitutes a "tweak" one could probably postpone the inevitable. Tweaks include: delayed retirement ages, reducing benefits, or increasing payroll taxes (rates or current cap at ~$90k)
Of course, none of this acknowledges that the social security "surplus" is fictional, as it's been spent and the surplus nominally used to reduce the deficit/debt. The real debt is actual several trillion higher, because the government owes the social security trust fund a bunch of money as well.
