Despite the fact that Social Security has projected that depletion of the Social Security Trust Funds has not changed, there is still great concern that unless Congress acts, the Trust Funds will deplete enough where only three-fourths of benefits will be payable after depletion.
“The projected year for Disability Insurance Trust Fund depletion remains 2016, and legislative action is needed as soon as possible to address this financial imbalance,” said Carolyn Colvin, acting Social Security commissioner.
Congress has not yet to deal with the impending Social Security shortfall even though non-interest income fell below program costs in 2010 for the first time since 1983.
Here is a closer look at some of the interesting discoveries as confirmed by the recent 2013 Trustees Report:
- Income, including interest to the combined Old Age Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds amounted to $840 billion in 2012 ($590 billion in net contributions, $27 billion from taxation of benefits, $109 billion in interest, and $114 billion in reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury).
- Total expenditures from the combined OASDI Trust Funds amounted to $786 billion in 2012.
- Non-interest income fell below program costs in 2010 for the first time since 1983. Program costs are projected to exceed non-interest income throughout the remainder of the 75-year period.
- The asset reserves of the combined OASDI Trust Finds increased by $54 billion in 2012 to a total of $2.73 trillion.
- During 2012, an estimated 161 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes.
- Social Security paid benefits of $775 billion in the calendar year 2012. There were about $57 million beneficiaries at the end of the calendar year.
- The cost of $6.3 billion to administer the program in 2012 was 0.8 percent of total expenditures.
- The combined Trust Fund asset reserves earned interest at an effective annual rate of 4.1 percent in 2012.
