Social Security has a large and growing surplus, according to the 2016 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds, released today. This year’s report projects that in 2016 Social Security will run an annual surplus of roughly $15.7 billion, bringing the accumulated surplus to about roughly $2.8 trillion by the end of the year. It projects that, even if Congress took no action whatsoever, there is sufficient revenue to pay for all benefits and associated administrative costs until 2034, and 79 percent of those costs thereafter. It once again shows that Social Security is fully affordable. At its most expensive, at the end of the 21 st century, Social Security will cost just 6.1 percent of GDP.
The following is a statement from the President of Social Security Works and the Chair of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition:
The 2016 Trustees Report shows that the current program is fully affordable. Indeed, the United States can fully afford an expanded Social Security. Poll after poll shows that the American people overwhelmingly support expanding the program’s benefits. Increasingly, our nation’s political leaders are listening.
The Democratic Party strongly favors expanding, not cutting Social Security. At this moment, the growing movement to expand, not cut, Social Security includes the President, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders, around 95 percent of the Democratic Senators and around 80 percent of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives. In stark contrast, virtually no Republican elected officials have advocated expanding, not cutting, Social Security.
Social Security is a solution to our looming retirement income crisis, the increasing economic squeeze on middle-class families, and the perilous and growing income and wealth inequality. In light of these challenges and Social Security’s important role in addressing them, the right question is not how can we afford to expand Social Security, but, rather, how can we afford not to expand it.
-Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works and Chair of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition
For Nancy’s full reaction to the Trustees Report, read her blog post on the topic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-altman/2016-trustees-report-conf_b_10615718.html
Fact Sheet on the Trustees Report: http://www.socialsecurityworks.org/2016/06/22/4072/
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?Social Security Works is the convening group in the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, a coalition comprised of more than 350 national and state organizations representing more than 50 million Americans from many of the nation’s leading aging, labor, disability, women’s, children, consumer, civil rights and equality organizations.
Source: http://www.socialsecurityworks.org/2016/06/22/4119/
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