Social Security to lose benefits by 2035
By Bruno Ugaz - Media Director at Advue Consulting
Millions of citizens could lose social security benefits by 2035, according to a report released by the Trump administration. Beneficiaries would receive 25 percent less of their social security income if Congress doesn’t act soon.
The report stated that the government will have to tap into Social Security reserves in 2020 when the costs exceed what it receives from taxes. The $3 trillion reserves are projected to deplete by 2035. That means that 51-year-olds will not be able to claim full benefits when they retire 16 years from now.
In 2018, the Social Security program helped as much as 63 million people, many of them retired but also their dependents and some disabled beneficiaries.
The Social Security board of trustees are urging lawmakers to act quickly to assure Americans full retirement benefits. The trustees spoke against massive Medicare and social security reform and instead asked lawmakers to focus on retirees security and a means of health care.
But lawmakers have long avoided reforming the program because it would include raising taxes or cutting back on benefits, an unpopular idea for either party.
President Trump also expressed his disinterest to aid the program during the 2016 campaign stating that “he wouldn’t touch it”. He mentioned that his economic plan on reaching 4% growth would be all that would be needed to ail social security. Most economists disagree, calling the notion of 4 percent growth unrealistic.
The current economy is strong but has failed to aid social security debts, and due to the 2017 tax cuts the U.S. has grown larger in economic deficit.
Medicare trust fund Part A, which funds hospital care and nursing home costs for the elderly, is also expected to cut back on funds by 2026. Just like Social Security, it should be able to cover most of the costs but not all.
Medicare trust fund Part B, which covers the costs of visits to the doctor, and Part D, which covers drug prescription costs, remain largely underfunded with their futures up in the air.
Trump and Republican lawmakers have ridiculed the idea of Medicare expansion even as it becomes a central issue for the 2020 presidential campaign.
