Social Security trust runs dry in 2033

WASHINGTON -- Social Security is rushing faster toward insolvency, driven by retiring baby boomers, a weak economy and politicians' reluctance to take painful action to fix the huge retirement and disability program.

The trust funds that support Social Security will run dry in 2033, three years earlier than projected, the government said yesterday.

There was no change in the year that Medicare's hospital insurance fund is projected to run out of money. It's still 2024. The program's trustees said the pace of Medicare spending continues to accelerate, however. Congress enacted a 2 percent cut for Medicare last year, and that is the main reason the trust fund exhaustion date did not advance.

The trustees who oversee both programs say high energy prices are suppressing workers' wages, a trend they see continuing. They also expect people to work fewer hours than previously projected, even after the economy recovers. Both trends would lead to lower payroll tax receipts, which support both programs.

Unless Congress acts -- and forcefully -- payments to millions of Americans could be cut. If the Social Security and Medicare funds ever become exhausted, the programs would collect only enough in payroll taxes to pay partial benefits.

Social Security could cover about 75 percent of benefits, the trustees said in their annual report. Medicare's giant hospital fund could pay 87 percent of costs.

The trustees project that Social Security benefits will increase next year, though the increase could be small. They project a cost-of-living-adjustment of 1.8 percent for 2013; the actual amount won't be known until October.