The 2017 Social Security Trustee’s Report
Social Security’s Board of Trustees released their 2017 annual report yesterday, including a forecast that there is no change to the projected date the OASI (Old Age & Survivors) and DI (Disability) Trust Fund asset reserves, now totaling $2.85 trillion, will be depleted (after which 77% of benefits would be payable). Good news by at least some measure is that the reserves are still growing and will continue to do so through 2021 (one year more than last year’s report), and that the projected depletion date of the DI Trust Fund was extended to 2028, up from last year’s estimate of 2023. Social Security’s asset reserves are invested in special issue Government securities, which last year earned an effective annual interest rate of 3.2%. To avoid benefit reductions when the combined Trust Funds are depleted 17 years hence, Congress will soon need to make changes to the program to improve its financial status for the long term.
AMAC has been at the forefront trying to strengthen Social Security by developing and proposing its Social Security Guarantee. AMAC has been discussing and continues to discuss this common-sense solution with Congressional Representatives in its efforts to protect America’s senior citizens who rely on Social Security. To review AMAC’s Social Security Guarantee, click here.
To review the Social Security Administration’s Press Release about the Trustee’s Report, click here.