Since its inception, Social Security has seemed at risk for insolvency. Yet every time the program has been on the brink of demise, it has been saved. That being said, a confluence of factors, including an aging population, longer life expectancies, and economic downturns, have made many policymakers rethink how we distribute retirement benefits. However, SSDI benefits are paid through a different fund, and those projections are much more promising.
Based on Social Security’s best estimates, the 2024 report shows that:
- The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays retirement benefits, will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 79 percent of scheduled benefits.
- The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund, which pays SSDI benefits, is projected to be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled disability benefits through at least 2098, the last year of this report’s projection period. Last year’s report projected that
the DI Trust Fund would be able to pay scheduled benefits through at least 2097, the last year of that report’s projection period. - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is financed by general funds from the U.S. Treasury. Because of that, SSA does not compile funding projections for that program.
Source: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/