Social Security 2025 Trustee Report Summary Has Been Released

[GailL1]

SSA.gov - A Summary of the 2025 Social Security Trustee Report 

You can read the linked report, it isn’t long - this is the summary only.

Just some highlights:

Based on our best estimates, this year's reports show that:

• The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of total scheduled benefits.

• The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund is projected to be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits through at least 2099, the last year of this report’s projection period. Last year’s report projected that the DI Trust Fund would be able to pay scheduled benefits through at least 2098, the last year of that report’s projection period.

• If the OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund projections were combined, the resulting projected fund (designated OASDI) would be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2034, one year earlier than reported last year. At that time, the projected fund’s reserves would become depleted, and continuing total fund income would be sufficient to pay 81 percent of scheduled benefits. (The two funds could not actually be combined unless there were a change in the law, but the combined projection of the two funds is frequently used to indicate the overall status of the Social Security program.)

• The Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, three years earlier than reported last year. At that point, that fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 89 percent of total scheduled benefits. NOTE:  THIS IS MEDICARE PART A.

• The Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund is adequately financed into the indefinite future because, unlike the other trust funds, its main financing sources—enrolled beneficiary premiums and the associated federal contributions from the Treasury—are automatically adjusted each year to cover costs for the upcoming year. Although the financing is assured, the rapidly rising SMI costs have been placing steadily increasing demands on beneficiaries and general taxpayers.

NOTE THIS IS MEDICARE PART B and PART D

The projected long-term finances of the combined OASDI fund worsened this year primarily due to three factors.

1.  First, the Social Security Fairness Act, as enacted on January 5, 2025, repealed the Windfall Elimination and Government Pension Offset provisions of the Social Security Act. The repeal of these provisions increased projected Social Security benefit levels for some workers, relative to projected benefit levels in last year’s report. The impact of this legislation on the OASI Trust Fund was the primary contributor to the change in the combined OASDI fund depletion date this year.

2.  Second, the Trustees extended the assumed period of recovery from historically low levels of fertility by 10 years. The long-term fertility rate is reached in 2050, compared to 2040 as assumed in last year’s report.

3.  Third, the Trustees lowered the assumed long-term share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that accrues to workers in the form of labor compensation.

There is more at the link - as it has said for the last 15 years at least, regardless of the Administration - it ends with the same ole statement

Lawmakers have many options for changes that would reduce or eliminate the long-term financing shortfalls. Taking action sooner rather than later will allow consideration of a broader range of solutions and provide more time to phase in changes so that the public has adequate time to prepare.

WELL, Legislators - is it time to act YET?