When will Social Security begin to run a cash-flow deficit?
According to the 2008 Trustees Report, the year that Social Security will begin to spend more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes remains at 2017–the same as in last year’s report. The year the “trust fund” is exhausted remains at 2041, also the same as last year’s report. What are the operating numbers from the current year? The Trustees Report includes detailed information about the aggregate amount of payroll taxes paid in the previous calendar year and the aggregate amount of benefits paid in that year. It also includes data on operating expenses. In 2007, the Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund, which pays for retirement and survivors’ benefits, took in $675.0 billion and paid out $495.7 billion. Its annual surplus was $179.3 billion, but only $82.3 billion of that came from payroll tax receipts. The remaining $97.0 billion of the surplus came from a paper transaction that credited interest to the trust fund. What does it all mean? • Good news for seniors. The benefits of
