Entitlements...Far from Bankrupt

The combined Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability trust funds will be “exhausted” in 2033, as will Medicare’s Hospital Insurance trust fund in 2024. Social Security’s retirement and survivors’ trust fund, taken alone, will be exhausted in 2035.  But this does not mean that Social Security and Medicare will have no more financial resources to pay benefits on these dates, as “bankruptcy” suggests.

After 2033, even if Congress does nothing, there will still be sufficient assets from payroll taxes to pay about 75 percent of retirement and survivors’ benefits.  Similarly, when the Medicare trust fund becomes insolvent in 2024, payroll taxes and other revenues will still be sufficient to pay 87 percent of hospital insurance costs.