Younger Americans are worried that Social Security is disappearing. Some 36% of Americans under age 65 don’t think the valuable social safety net will be available to them by the time they retire, according to a recent survey from NerdWallet.
It’s not hard to believe that once-reliable sources of income in retirement are headed by the wayside. Defined benefit pension plans, once ubiquitous, have all but disappeared: Just 8% of workers aged 18 to 29 had one as of 2023, per the Federal Reserve.
Headlines about Social Security are equally ominous. Every year, the Social Security Administration warns the public that the trust fund used to pay retirement benefits is headed for depletion. The latest estimate, released in June, projects that the fund will dry up in 2033, at which point Uncle Sam will only be able to pay beneficiaries 77% of what they’re owed.
Experts say that date might even come sooner. Tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s budget bill, passed on July 4, bring the estimated depletion date up to the end of 2032, according to estimates from Social Security Administration Chief Actuary Karen Glenn.
In other words, if Congress doesn’t act, Social Security could soon be headed for diminishment — but not extinction.
