Chicago – June 18, 2025
The Social Security trust fund is projected to be depleted in eight years, according to a report released by the program’s trustees on Wednesday. If Congress does not act before then, benefits for more than 60 million retirees and their families will face an automatic 23% reduction. This timeline is about nine months earlier than previous forecasts, largely due to a new law that increased benefits for nearly 3 million former public-sector workers and updated assumptions about future wages, payroll taxes, and birth rates.
A primary concern for the program is the aging U.S. population, with over 11,000 baby boomers retiring daily. As more Americans draw benefits at younger ages, partly out of fear of future cuts, fewer younger workers are available to pay payroll taxes. While the trust fund, which was built up during the baby boom era, is currently covering benefits, once it is depleted, only 77% of the promised benefits will be funded through incoming payroll taxes.
Meanwhile, a separate trust fund supporting Social Security disability payments is expected to remain solvent through 2099. If the two funds were merged, the combined trust fund would last until 2034, after which benefits would be cut by 19%.
