Social Security Trustees Report

What you can trust in the Social Security trustees' report

Social Security has been a great success for 75 years. The 2010 Trustees’ Report confirms that the program can easily continue to provide economic security to all Americans through the 21st century. The report projects the program’s finances through 2084. As a whole, it shows that Social Security is fundamentally healthy.

The report projects that when those just entering the work force reach retirement age, both workers and retirees will have considerably more buying power than they do today. If the Trust Fund is exhausted in 2037, payroll taxes alone at the current level would cover benefits averaging $19,300 ‐‐ about $1,600 more than today’s typical retiree receives (after inflation).

Unfortunately, a reader has to wade through hundreds of pages and apply enough arithmetic to pass a seventh-grade math test to arrive at that reassuring conclusion. Even more unfortunate, the years of propaganda by Social Security’s opponents have convinced many Americans that the system is in trouble.

Learn the real story about the health of the Social Security system.