A Social Security Administration office in Washington, D.C., March 26, 2025.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
The trust fund Social Security relies on to pay retirement benefits may be depleted in 2033, according to an annual report released by the Social Security Board of Trustees on Wednesday. That is unchanged from last year’s projections.
At that time, 77% of those benefits will be payable, according to the report.
Social Security’s combined trust funds — the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds — will have enough revenue to pay scheduled benefits and administrative costs until 2034, according to the report. That is one year earlier than projected last year.
At that time, 81% of the combined benefits will be payable, according to the new projection.
While the combined depletion date is used to gauge the Social Security’s solvency, current law prohibits joining those funds. However, Congress has authorized shifting of the funds in the past when there have been trust fund shortfalls.
The Disability Insurance trust fund will be able to pay full benefits through at least 2099, according to the report.
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Medicare’s Hospital Insurance trust fund, which is associated with Medicare Part A and pays for certain health care services, will be able to pay full benefits until 2033, according to the Medicare trustees’ report that was also released on Wednesday. That is three years earlier than projected last year.
At that time, 89% of benefits will be payable.
Congress ‘must act’ to protect program
Social Security’s trust funds help pay for benefits when more money is needed in addition to ongoing revenue from payroll taxes.
Workers currently contribute 6.2% of their pay toward Social Security and 1.45% toward Medicare. Employers typically match those taxes. However, self-employed workers pay a 15.3% tax rate.
To shore up Social Security and Medicare’s trust funds, Congress may raise taxes, cut benefits or a combination of both.
Approximately 70 million people will receive Social Security benefits this year, while 185 million individuals work and contribute to the program through payroll taxes, Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement.
The financial status of the trust funds is a “top priority” for the Trump administration, Bisignano said. He also called on Congress to “protect and strengthen” the trust funds for the millions of Americans who will rely on the program “now and in the future.”
Advocates for Social Security beneficiaries likewise called for lawmakers to address Social Security’s looming funding shortfall.
“Congress must act to protect and strengthen the Social Security that Americans have earned and paid into throughout their working lives,” AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement following the release of the report.
Minter-Jordan said that “as America’s population ages, the stability of this vital program only becomes more important.”
Because the Social Security and Medicare depletion dates are approaching, lawmakers are “running out of time to phase in changes gradually and avoid harsh cuts, sharp tax increases, or unacceptable borrowing,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement.
Based on the current outlook, Social Security and Medicare won’t be able to pay full benefits for today’s retirees, MacGuineas said. For example, the trust funds will run out when today’s 59-year-olds reach full retirement age and when today’s youngest retirees turn 70, she said.
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