There are about eight years left before social security can no longer pay full benefits.
I spoke to several experts on retirement and social security for a story on Marketplace. But, here are some key takeaways.
The Social Security system is spending more than it takes in – because there are more older people pulling retirement income than younger workers paying into the system.
It’s a demographic problem.
Social security has been relying on its savings fund to make up the difference between what it brings in and spends. And, best guesses right now are that it will run out of savings sometime between 2033 and 2035.
There are a lot of ideas on how to fix the problem. We may have to raise payroll taxes, especially on higher income earners, or reduce benefits. That’s not considered a very realistic option, because the average social security check right now is $1900 a month, already pretty low.
And one thing I learned in talking to experts is how more and more people are relying on social security as their principle source of income in retirement.
One thing that has been done before to shore up the system is raising the retirement age for full benefits. In the early 1980s, we raised it from 65 to 67. We might have to raise it again.
All of the experts I talked to said they don’t think Congress will act until it absolutely has to. In the 80s, we were just months away from social security cutting benefits, before reforms were enacted.
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