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If Social Security not fixed, retirees face automatic cut in 2033 Social
Security's finances have improved slightly in the last year. But the popular
retirement program still faces big challenges including the threat of automatic
benefit cuts in less than a decade.


ECONOMY


THE CLOCK IS TICKING TO FIX SOCIAL SECURITY AS RETIREES FACE AUTOMATIC CUT IN 9
YEARS

May 6, 20247:06 PM ET

Scott Horsley

Enlarge this image

Social Security's finances have improved slightly in the last year. But benefits
are still facing an automatic cut in less than a decade unless Congress takes
steps to prop up the program. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images


Social Security's finances have improved slightly in the last year. But benefits
are still facing an automatic cut in less than a decade unless Congress takes
steps to prop up the program.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Congress has less than a decade to fix Social Security before the popular
program runs short of cash, threatening a sharp cut in benefits for nearly 60
million retirees and family members, according to a government report released
Monday.

The report from Social Security trustees predicts the retirement program's trust
fund will be exhausted in November of 2033. At that point, benefits would
automatically be cut by 21%, unless lawmakers adopt changes before then.

There's some good news in the new forecast. Thanks to higher-than-expected
worker productivity and a decline in expected disabilities, Social Security
isn't burning through cash as fast as trustees predicted a year ago.

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ECONOMY


MANY BABY BOOMERS OWN HOMES THAT ARE TOO BIG. CAN THEY BE ENTICED TO SELL THEM?

Still, the long-term demographic challenges haven't gone away. A growing number
of baby boomers are collecting benefits, while there are fewer people in the
workforce paying taxes for each retiree. Given today's low birthrates, that
mismatch is not expected to change for decades, although a surge in immigration
helps.


PROPOSED FIXES

Congress could fix the problem by raising taxes that support Social Security,
reducing retirement benefits, or some combination of the two. But a politically
palatable solution has been elusive.

"When you see the two major candidates running for president tripping over
themselves to promise what they won't do to fix the problem, you have to worry
because those kinds of reforms really start at the top," says Maya MacGuineas,
president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The Biden administration has pledged not to touch Social Security benefits.

"Seniors spent a lifetime working to earn the benefits they receive," Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen, who leads the trustees, said in a statement. "We are
committed to steps that would protect and strengthen these programs that
Americans rely on for a secure retirement."


CAMPUS PROTESTS OVER THE GAZA WAR


TOP COMPANIES ARE ON STUDENTS' DIVEST LIST. BUT DOES IT REALLY WORK?

Congressional Democrats have proposed higher taxes on the wealthy to support
Social Security. Congressional Republicans have balked at that, instead calling
for reducing the benefit formula and raising the retirement age for younger
workers.

"Those who want to cut Social Security couch it in affordability," says Nancy
Altman, who heads the advocacy group Social Security Works. "But of course,
there's no question we can afford it. It's really a question of values. And as
polarized as we are, we're not polarized over this."



Altman is confident that lawmakers will find a solution before automatic cuts
take effect.

"If they didn't act, not only would they all be voted out of office," she says,
"they couldn't even remain in Washington. They'd be chased down the street."

But the clock is ticking and delay has already been costly.


HEALTH


FAKE BOTOX HAS SICKENED PATIENTS NATIONWIDE. HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW — AND WHAT TO
AVOID

"Every year the trustees warn us we have to make changes, and the sooner we make
them, the better and easier it will be," says MacGuineas. "And every year we
fail to make those changes."


MEDICARE AND DISABILITY SOLVENCY

While Social Security's retirement program is in danger of running short of
cash, a separate program that supports disabled people appears to be solvent for
the long term, trustees said.

Medicare's finances have also improved somewhat in the last year, thanks to a
strong economy and lower-than-expected spending. Still, the program, which
provides health care for nearly 67 million people, is expected to face its own
cash crunch in 2036.

 * Social Security
 * Medicare
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