Page 22 - Security Trustees News Today

There’s no doubt America’s fiscal problems are serious and significant, but CBO’s assortment of options offers lawmakers a deep playbook of spending and revenue changes that would put us on a better path.

Most summaries and studies examine Social Security reform from theviewpoint of federal budget impact, tax rates, and thesurvivability of the system, but few consider the overall impact ofreform on the workers it was designed to benefit. Social Securityshould not be reformed or "saved" for its own sake, but only if itmore effectively provides the benefits workers need at a price theycan afford.

Here's what you need to know about the funding crisis the program is facing.

It's something that could hurt current and future retirees big time.

Since its establishment in 1935, Social Security has grown to become the largest program in the federal budget.

Take a deep breath -- the news is not all bad.

America’s Social Security program is running out of time and money. Policymakers cannot agree on how to fix it, and generations of Americans have been duped into believing it is a good deal.

There's good news and bad news.

A‌ccording to the 2015 Social Security Trustees Report, the Social ‌Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Trust Fund is on course to run dry in 2016, six decades after the program began in 1956.[1] Absent reform, disability benefits will be cut across the board by almost 20 percent, and the average disabled worker’s benefit will fall below the federal poverty level.

Executive Summary: Most summaries and studies examine SocialSecurity reform from the viewpoint of federal budget impact, taxrates, and the survivability of the system, but few consider theoverall impact of reform on the workers it was designed to benefit.Social Security should not be reformed or "saved" for its own sake,but only if it more effectively provides the benefits workers needat a price they can afford.