The trust fund to pay retirement benefits could run out in late 2032, the Social Security Administration said Tuesday. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
The Social Security Administration told Congress on Tuesday that the trust fund to pay retirement benefits could run out in late 2032, which is three months earlier than it was projected to in its last report in June 2025.
The money that funds payments comes from payroll taxes, but when more money is paid out than is brought in, the trust fund makes up the difference. The administration released its annual trustees report Tuesday.
The report said that if the fund gets depleted, Social Security will be able to pay only 78% of its retirement benefits.
The OASI trust fund, which was once known as Old Age and Survivors Insurance, may be able to pay full benefits until the third quarter of 2034 if it’s combined with the disability insurance trust fund. Under that plan, 83% of benefits will be payable after that day, according to the new report. That estimate is unchanged from the prior trustees report.
The law prevents the two funds from combining, though Congress could allow shifting money to cover payments. But that would take money from people with disabilities to fund OASI, Shai Akabas, vice president of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told CNBC.
“That solution is merely a Band-Aid,” Akabas said of combining the trust funds. “It’ll delay the point at which Congress would have to tackle the broader problem.”
The disability trust fund is projected to have a positive balance for the next 75 years, the new report said.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump discusses renovations to the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and makes an announcement on coal in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo
