Social Security On Track To Run Out Of Money By 2034

🕒 Social Security Could Run Short by 2034. Recent government projections show that Social Security’s trust funds might run out of money by 2034—a year earlier than previously expected. After that point, the program will only be able to pay about 81% of promised benefits, based solely on incoming payroll taxes.

🧠 Why It’s Happening
Several factors are speeding up the shortfall:

More people are living longer and retiring, while birth rates and workforce growth remain low.

Recent policy changes have slightly increased benefit obligations.

Wages and long-term economic projections are growing more slowly than expected.

📉 What That Means for Retirees
Benefits won’t disappear, but they could be cut by around 19–23% if no action is taken.

Cuts would vary by program: retirees might see bigger reductions than those on disability or survivor benefits.

🛠️ How to Fix It
Lawmakers could help avoid cuts by:

Raising payroll taxes, either by increasing the rate or lifting the cap on high earners.

Changing benefits, like slowing the rate of cost-of-living increases or raising the retirement age.

Using a combination of tax hikes and benefit adjustments.

Acting now could spread the impact more fairly and reduce the size of the changes needed.

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