The trust funds for Social Security and Medicare will run out of money in less than a decade, according to a report released Wednesday, as the programs’ trustees warned that the funds’ depletion date is significantly closer than predicted a year ago.
If Congress does not overhaul the programs’ financing, automatic cuts will slash Social Security benefits by 23 percent and Medicare hospital benefits by 11 percent in 2033, the report said.
The trustees cited several reasons for the funds’ looming insolvency.
First, a bipartisan law enacted at the end of President Joe Biden’s presidency hiked benefits for more than 3 million retirees.
When lawmakers voted to raise their benefits, projections at the time said the law would hasten the trust fund’s depletion by at least six months.
In addition, the trustees predicted slower earnings growth for workers over the next decade than they had previously forecast.
Is the above driving people to take their social security early?