Posted on April 24, 2012 |
The Social Security Trustees just released their annual report on Social Security’s finances. It’s provoked a number of misinformed “the sky is falling” stories from journalists who should know better, as explained by the Columbia Journalism Review.
To get the facts, you can watch this short video which answers the question, “Will Social Security be there for me?” Or you can read on:
- Social Security can pay 100 percent of promised benefits for the next 20 years, until 2033, even if Congress takes no action. And after 2033, Social Security won’t be broke; payroll taxes will still cover 75 percent of promised benefits.
- It isn’t difficult to close the long-term financing gap and ensure that future generations get 100 percent of promised benefits. One way Congress could do it is by requiring high earners to pay Social Security payroll taxes on all of their earnings, which 94 percent of Americans who earn less than $110,100 a year already do.
- Social Security will run a surplus this year—and the year after that, and the year after that, until 2020. That’s right—even though Social Security will take in less in payroll taxes than it pays in benefits this year, it will have money left over to deposit in the Social Security Trust Fund after it pays all benefits due. That’s because Social Security also earns interest on the $2.7 trillion in bonds it currently holds in the Social Security Trust Fund.
