A recent story found in the International Business Times reported that 71 percent of workers fear that Social Security won’t be around for future retirees. This could be a concern for generations from now, but for everyone who responded to this survey, Social Security will be around, and no expert disputes that. The only question is whether benefits will be reduced for future retirees, but it goes to show that a lot of people do not pay close attention to the facts.
There have been news stories for years about Social Security “going bankrupt” or being “insolvent,” which can be scary words, but overblown. It appears many future retirees are not spending enough time learning the facts because Social Security is not going away entirely, whether anything is done to fix a funding shortfall or not. Future Social Security taxes will continue to provide benefits for future retirees.
It is true that if nothing is done Social Security’s reserves will be depleted by 2035 and Social Security benefits could be reduced by as much as 25 percent, but ongoing Social Security taxes paid will be able to continue to provide benefits in this amount for decades, and decades, and decades.
There is no doubt that Congress needs to get its act together to solve the Social Security funding shortfall, and there are several plans floating through Congress right now that would do just that, but with two different parties in control it still remains a long shot that anything is done in the near future. Even so, the fact that 71 percent of respondents of the survey should not have this sky is falling belief that Social Security is near distinction. A little bit of reading and research needs to be done to inform these people that Social Security will be around when it is their turn to retire.
