Social Security Trustees Report

What you can trust in the Social Security trustees' report

Social Security has been a great success for seven decades. The 2008 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 2085. As a whole, it shows that Social Security is fundamentally healthy, but the introduction produced by political appointees warns of looming financial problems.

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. In 2050, Social Security taxes at the current level will finance benefits for the typical retiree worth more than $20,000 in 2008 dollars. Today’s average annual benefit is $12,800.

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.