For years, people have been claiming that Social Security disability and retirement benefits are going to end. They are actually separate funds, but at times have borrowed from one another to keep both programs afloat.
Due to the aging of baby boomers and lower birth rates of the next generations, more people are drawing out while fewer workers are paying in, which is a recipe for disaster. On the bright side, this is not a surprise, and the Social Security Administration has planned and prepared for this by increasing retirement ages and decreasing the amount of benefits they pay out.
In fact, in the Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Insurance Trust Funds, released on June 22, 2016, showed that less money was paid out in 2015 than had been expected, which resulted in an increase in the trust. Currently, the programs combined are expected to be able to continue to pay all benefits until 2034, around the time people born in 1969 reach age 65.
The Disability Insurance Trust expenditures, in contrast, grew compared to the prior year, exceeding what was anticipated by the Board. The Board had issued a report in 2015 stating that, as of 2016, they would only be able to pay around 80% of benefits because the fund would be insolvent. However, due to a change in tax revenue allocation the same year, the Disability Insurance Trust is now expected to last until 2023.
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