FATIMA HUSSEIN and TOMMURPHY, Associated Press
Washington (AP) — An unexpected recovery from a pandemic has postponed the bankruptcy date of social security and Medicare, but authorities warn that the current economic turmoil is putting further pressure on the bedrock retirement program. doing.
According to the annual Social Security and Medicare report released Thursday, social security trust funds will not be able to pay the full amount from 2035 instead of last year’s 2034 estimate. The year before that estimated the depletion date in 2035.
The expected depletion date of Medicare’s trust fund for inpatient care has returned to 2028, two years ago, from last year’s 2026 forecast.
“The recovery from the 2020 recession is stronger and faster than last year’s reports envisioned, and will have a positive impact on the actuarial situation of trust funds predicted in these reports. “It was,” the report said.
Caricatures
Forecasters said in a report that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had no net impact on their long-term forecasts. However, they also said that the assumptions in their latest report were made in February, before the incident began to rise nationwide again and inflation surged.
Social security benefits more than 65 million Americans, primarily retired, disabled and survivors of deceased workers. Medicare targets approximately 64 million elderly and disabled people.
When the Social Security Trust Fund is exhausted, the government will be able to pay 80% of the planned benefits, the report said. Medicare can pay 90% of the total planned benefits when the fund is exhausted.
Medicare’s hospital insurance fund income is expected to be higher than last year’s estimate, as both the number of eligible workers supporting it and their average wages are expected to be higher.
The main source of funding is payroll tax on the income paid by employees and employers. In 2021, about 183 million people paid these taxes.
The report predicts that Medicare’s “Part B” premium for outpatient coverage is stable at $ 170.10 per month. However, officials said the informed forecasts earlier this year did not reflect the expected decline due to overestimation of the cost of covering the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, aducanumab.
Trustees for social security and Medicare include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health and Welfare, workers, and social security commissioners. They will be joined by two “public councilors,” whose positions have been vacant since 2015.
The White House representative did not answer an email inquiry as to whether the president intends to appoint a new public trustee.
The Board’s report further reminds us of historically high inflation, a recovery from a pandemic, and the financial problems of the US government, which manages the war in Ukraine.
AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said the report “sends a clear message to Congress to protect the profits people have earned and paid now and in the long run, despite short-term improvements. We have to act. “
“The stakes are too high for millions of Americans who rely on Medicare and social security for their health and financial well-being,” she said.
This year, social security retirees received a 5.9% increase in benefits over 39 years. This is the largest living cost adjustment, also known as COLA.
24-year-old Ron Thompson Jr., who lives in Washington, DC, says the increase in living expenses this year is “transformative” as a benefit of trickle-down to the family, as it helps to care for his 77-year-old grandmother. It’s on the other side of the town.
Soaring transportation costs due to high inflation made it difficult for Thompson and his mother to drive to take care of his grandmother.
“We all experienced high costs,” Thompson said. When she travels to take care of Thompson’s grandmother, “Adjustment is” because his grandmother can pass some of her social security benefits to her daughter to help pay for petrol. It’s a cushion that my mother can rest on. “
Treasury officials said high inflation this year could drive an 8 percent increase in profits next year.
“Policymakers need to bother and stop pretending to solve funding problems for these important programs,” Maya McGuinneas, chairman of the Responsible Federal Budget Committee, said in a statement. Said.
According to a report from the new Office of Management and Budget, the biggest driver of increased debt associated with GDP is increased interest and spending on Medicare and social security. The aging population is pushing these numbers up.
Charles Brahaus, a senior economic adviser to former President George W. Bush and a public councilor of social security and Medicare during the Obama administration, told The Associated Press: ” He said.
Blahous states that “the program will be subject to permanent renegotiations” if social security and Medicare cannot be funded under the current structure, threatening to reduce or abolish benefits in the future. I have.
R-Fla. Senator Rick Scott is proposing an 11-point plan that requires Congress to come up with a plan to properly fund the program.
“Wait until the 2030s and take action,” Brahaus said. “The annual shortfall is so great that it is many times larger and cannot be understood.”
D-Mass, Chairman of House Ways and Means. “The Democrats will continue to fight to ensure that these important programs remain powerful, both good and bad,” Richard E. Neal said in a statement.
Murphy reported from Indianapolis.
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