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Social Security Will Not Go Broke

Social Security Will Not Go Broke
Social Security will be reformed long before the system goes belly up. TonelsonProductions/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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Here we go again. Another round of scare stories about the impending doom of Social Security. Headlines such as this one in my local newspaper—“Social Security Moves Closer to Bankruptcy”—have many of my readers on edge.

These kinds of headlines were prompted by a report recently released from the Social Security Board of Trustees that said the nation’s bedrock social insurance program is one year closer to insolvency. It said that if no changes are made to the program by 2034, the system would be unable to pay full benefits. That’s one year earlier than the 2035 date in last year’s report.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
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