From the MarketWatch web site comes respected expert Andy Landis with this detailed analysis in readable Q+A format:
The Social Security Board of Trustees recently released its Annual Report to Congress on Social Security’s long-term finances. Minus the hype, the report is both significant and surprising.
I keep hearing that Social Security is about to go broke. What do the numbers show?
The Trustees’ Report presents these data:
- Social Security has $2.73 Trillion in trust fund reserves.
- Social Security reserves are still growing and will continue to grow through 2020.
- Beginning in 2021, program costs are projected to exceed income, shrinking the trust funds.
- The trust funds will be exhausted in 2033, the same year projected in the 2012 report.After 2033, income will cover 77% of scheduled payments.
- That can’t be right. I’ve heard that Social Security has been losing money since 2010.
Read the fine print. Starting in 2010, Social Security expenses exceeded “non-interest” income — primarily payroll taxes. But that ignores the interest Social Security earns on invested funds. If you take all income into account, Social Security had a surplus of $54 Billion in 2012 operations.
- Much more here: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/exposing-the-social-security-solvency-hype-2013-06-12?pagenumber=1