Congressional Budget Office Projects Social Security May Deplete Financial Resources By 2033; Predicts 23% Cut In Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Millions of retired Americans rely on the monthly benefits provided by Social Security – especially now that record inflation has pumped up the prices of everyday goods and services – but the increasingly poor outlook for the program may end up spelling further financial difficulty for our most vulnerable citizens in the future if a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report is accurate. 

The report projects a potential and whopping 23 percent cut to Social Security benefits in 2033 unless steps are taken to remedy the situation, which unfortunately would most likely consist of significant increases in the amount of taxes that working-class U.S. citizens are forced to pay in the here and now. 

If the gap between the trust funds’ outlays and income occurs as CBO projects, then the balance in the trust funds will decline to zero in 2033 and the Social Security Administration will no longer be able to pay full benefits when they are due. 

Currently, the CBO is estimating that Social Security’s combined retirement and disability insurance programs will deplete their financial resources by 2033, as opposed to a 2035 estimate given by trustees representing the Social Security program itself. Tax increases to preserve the program, according to the CBO, would need to be in the range of a whopping 4.9 percentage points, as opposed to the 3.24 points that Social Security itself is anticipating. 

In CBO’s projections, spending for Social Security increases rapidly over the next decade and, if benefits are paid as scheduled, more slowly thereafter, relative to GDP—but revenues remain stable. If combined, the trust funds would be exhausted in 2033. https://t.co/FjXZkk85i8

— U.S. CBO (@USCBO) December 16, 2022

Experts are noting that the CBO’s estimates, based on numerous economic and demographic assumptions, are far more realistic and likely to come to pass than those put forth by Social Security. 

For example, the CBO are predicting an additional cost-of-living spike in inflation come 2023 of 8.7 percent, as opposed to Social Security’s estimate of just 2.3 percent. 

But despite which federal agency’s predictions end up being correct, the fact remains that the Social Security program is facing a gloomy and uncertain future regardless due to rampant governmental spending and debt, as well as a lack of action on the part of lawmakers to come up with a plan to save it. 

Americans need to take note the issues plaguing Social Security – which currently has a deficit of $20.4 trillion – and pressure their representatives to effect reforms to save it… before it’s too late.