What To Do About Social Security

Social Security will have enough money to pay only 70% to 80% of its promised benefits if changes aren’t made. The year when the program won’t be able to pay full benefits changes depending on forecasts for economic growth and inflation plus life expectancy, but it consistently has been between 2030 and 2040. Donald Trump has said he has no plans to change either Social Security or Medicare. But the Chairman of the House of Representatives Social Security Committee has other ideas. This article outlines his proposed reforms and other details about Social Security.

Social Security Administration officials said Johnson’s plan would fix the funding situation, at least until 2091, without raising payroll taxes. Typically, Congress has shored up the finances of Social Security with a series of benefit cuts and tax increases.

Under current law, just 79 percent of scheduled benefits are projected to be payable to each recipient in 2034, once the trust fund reserves are depleted. Under Johnson’s proposal, Social Security trust funds would remain solvent and be able to pay out 100 percent of benefits to retirees under the SSA’s 75-year projections.