The go-broke dates for Medicare and Social Security ‘s trust funds have moved up as rising health care costs and new legislation affecting Social Security benefits have contributed to earlier projected depletion dates, according to an annual report released Wednesday.
The go-broke date — or the date at which the programs will no longer have enough funds to pay full benefits — was pushed up to 2033 for Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund, according to the new report from the programs’ trustees. Last year’s report put the go-broke date at 2036.
Meanwhile, Social Security’s trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, instead of last year’s estimate of 2035. After that point, Social Security would only be able to pay 81% of benefits.
Social Security is literally the easiest problem to fix. Just raise the cap.
Right now, we pay SS on the first $167,000 in income. Most people make less than that so they pay SS on 100% of what they earn. But those who earn more that $167K only pay it on the first $167K.
So all they have to do is raise the cap from $167K to $250K, or $500K, etc. They’ll scream about it, but who cares? Most of us pay it on 100% of our pay, so I’m not concerned if you have to pay it on a fraction of that amount.
Simple. Stop listening to the Conservative Propaganda Machine, and just raise the cap.