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The need to shore up Social Security is mounting |
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January 9, 2017 |
By U.S. Senator Mike Crapo
In its most recent report out in June, the
Trustees of the Social Security trust fund
provided another warning that Congress must act
now to address the shortfalls of the Social
Security trust fund.
The trustees reported that the Social Security
program will be “unable to pay scheduled
benefits in full on a timely basis in 2034” and
recommended that lawmakers address these
shortfalls soon, so that “a broader range of
solutions can be considered and more time will
be available to phase in changes while giving
the public adequate time to prepare.”
Many Americans depend on Social Security, and we
must not waste more time and act on this warning
to prevent the program’s insolvency.
By law, the Social Security Trustees provide an
annual assessment to Congress of the current and
projected condition of the Social Security trust
fund. This report builds on past warnings that
the trust fund’s shortfalls must be addressed
now. The Trustees’ report included the following
troubling projections:
* Social Security’s combined trust funds will be depleted in 2034, the
same year projected in last year's report;
* When the reserve is depleted, income to the funds would be sufficient to
pay 77 percent of the scheduled benefits to
retired workers, their families and survivors of
deceased workers;
* The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund that supports the DI program,
which assists disabled workers and their
families, is projected to be depleted in 2023,
at which time continuing income to the DI Trust
Fund would be sufficient to pay 89 percent of
scheduled DI benefits;
* “If substantial actions are deferred for several years, the changes
necessary to maintain Social Security solvency
would be concentrated on fewer years and fewer
generations.”
The program provides benefits to millions of
senior citizens and the disabled, and the
solutions are increasingly difficult as more
time is wasted.
The Trustees report that there were 61 million
Social Security beneficiaries and 171 million
covered workers and their families in 2016.
The non-partisan Congressional Research Service
reports that, “maintaining financial balance
after trust fund insolvency would require
substantial reductions in Social Security
benefits, substantial increases in income, or
some combination of the two . . . The sooner
Congress acts to adjust Social Security policy,
the less abrupt the changes would need to be,
because they could be spread over a longer
period and would therefore affect a larger
number of workers and beneficiaries.”
The warnings are clear.
As a new Congress and new Administration kick
off this month, we must act as the trustees
advise, “With informed discussion, creative
thinking, and timely legislative action ...” to
prevent Social Security’s insolvency. |
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