Social Security’s Financial Outlook: The 2022 Update in Perspective

The brief’s key findings are:

• The 2022 Trustees Report has no real news about Social Security’s overall future.
  • The 75-year deficit inched from 3.54 to 3.42 percent of taxable payrolls, and
  • the trust fund depletion date moved back one year – from 2034 to 2035.
• Interestingly, a lower assumed disability incidence rate allows the DI trust fund to pay full benefits for the next 75 years.
• And, given today’s inflation, it’s worth stressing that Social Security COLAs protect retirees against rising prices.