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Helping Nervous Clients Understand The (True) State of the Social Security System and What It Means for Their Retirement

This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
Weekend reading social security reality retirement Weekend reading social security reality retirement

Weekend Reading

You’ve seen the media’s focus on the depletion of the Social Security trust fund (estimated 2035), but how could that impact your future benefits?

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Here’s what you should know: A complete loss of your benefits is unlikely. Most Social Security benefits are funded through ongoing payroll taxes, which means that even after the trust fund is exhausted, a significant portion of benefits will still be paid (about 83 percent) in 2035, declining to 73 percent by 2098. Further, legislative measures could resolve this funding gap. Possible solutions include increasing payroll taxes or adjusting benefits, with some policy changes potentially closing the 75-year shortfall entirely.

Key takeaways: Ultimately, the future is unknown, so seek sound guidance. Your financial advisor is there to help guide you through how to maximize your Social Security benefits, plus walk you through the potential impact Social Security changes could have on your retirement plan.