Preaching the News for Sunday

Social insecurity awaits Baby Boom retirees

"Restore our fortunes, O Lord," the psalmist prays this Sunday. Those coming to retirement age and counting on Social Security benefits may soon be joining in that prayer ...

"Restore our fortunes, O Lord," the psalmist prays this Sunday. Those coming to retirement age and counting on Social Security benefits may soon be joining in that prayer. For years the federal government borrowed from a $2.5 trillion Social Security nest egg, but starting this year those IOUs are coming due just as the government is racking up record deficits.

This year for the first time since Congress last overhauled the system in the 1980s the retirement program is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes--nearly $29 billion more. That would be a good time to start tapping the nest egg, but the federal government has already spent that money over the years on other programs, preferring to borrow from Social Security rather than foreign creditors.

Now it will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back what it owes, and the timing couldn't be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come.

It is estimated the trust fund will run out of money by 2037, according to the trustees who oversee the program. "This is not just a wake-up call, this is it. We're here," said Mary Johnson, a policy analyst with The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group. "We are not going to be able to put it off any more."

Source: An article by Stephen Ohlemacher for the Associated Press


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