Social Security’s Financial Outlook

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has released a new brief titled, “Social Security’s Financial Outlook: The 2014 Update in Perspective,” by Alicia H. Munnell, director of the center.

The brief’s key findings are:

The 2014 Trustees Report shows little change from last year:

• Social Security’s 75-year deficit rose modestly to 2.88 percent of payroll.
• But the deficit as a percent of GDP is still 1 percent.
• And trust fund exhaustion is still 2033, after which payroll taxes still cover about three quarters of promised benefits.

The brief also stated that the shortfall is manageable but, with the deficit rising to about 4 percent in two decades, action should be taken soon to avoid larger tax/benefit changes later. Also, Social Security’s disability insurance program needs immediate attention, as its trust fund is expected to be exhausted in 2016.

Download the report and share with your clients.