2024 Social Security Trustees Report Published–Shows One-Year Improvement in Solvency - Social Security Administration; AMAC
The 2024 edition of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program (Trustees Report) was issued yesterday afternoon. As noted in SSA’s press release announcing the report on 2023’s operations, “The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASI and DI) Trust Funds are projected to have enough dedicated revenue to pay all scheduled benefits and associated administrative costs until 2035, one year later than projected last year, with 83 percent of benefits payable at that time.”
The one-year improvement in the projected solvency calendar is attributed by the Trustees to several key factors, including a “strong economy, low unemployment, and higher job and wage growth.” For the full SSA press release, click here. The full Trustees Report can be accessed here.
Certainly, the extra breathing room is welcomed, but let’s not look at that as purely good news. The fact remains that the Social Security trust funds are on a clear path to insolvency, and action by Congress is required to stave off a financial disaster for the millions of seniors who rely on their monthly benefit to survive in an economy that is especially harsh for those in retirement.
What’s really needed, of course, is the careful evaluation of proposals to address the funding problems, and a bipartisan compromise to fix the system. This is needed quickly–the longer it takes to achieve a resolution, the more traumatic the remedies will need to be. Considering the future, keep in mind that the 118th Congress, like many of the preceding congressional sessions, continues to see proposals to reform Social Security in the face of the insolvency dilemma.
As an example of the leading thoughts on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved through slight modifications to cost-of-living adjustments and payments to high-income beneficiaries plus gradually increasing the full (but not early) retirement age. AMAC supports an increase in the threshold where benefits are taxed and then indexed for inflation and calls for eliminating the reduction in benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age. Summaries of the AMAC position–the AMAC Social Security Guarantee–can be viewed at AMAC.us.