The Social Security Board of Trustees recently released its 76th annual report to Congress on the financial status of the Social Security trust funds. Workers earn their Social Security benefits by contributing through deductions from their paychecks. The Social Security trust funds include the Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) fund, which pays benefits to retired workers and their families and to the families of deceased workers; and the Disability Insurance (DI) fund, which pays benefits to disabled workers and their families.
The report shows that, as a whole, Social Security is fully funded until 2034, and after that it is about three-quarters financed. Considered alone, the DI Trust Fund is projected to become depleted sooner than the combined Social Security funds. BEcause of a legislative change last fall, the DI fund will now be able to pay full benefits until 2023, and the retirement fund alone will be adequate into 2035.