It's no surprise that Social Security is in trouble. But a DailyFinance report says there's some shocking news coming from the Congressional Budget Office's annual projections on the health of Social Security and its Trust Funds.
The main takeaways: Social Security is failing faster than last year's dire projection, Social Security spending will nearly double over the next decade and disability claims are high and rising.
The report provides data and charts and says the future is ugly, calling the latest Social Security news "a stern warning of a pending financial catastrophe for a program that over 50 million Americans currently rely on — and nearly everyone working in the country expects to receive."
"Either taxes are going to skyrocket to cover the costs, or benefits will need to be cut," the report reads. "Neither option looks all that good to anyone who expects to be working more than a decade or so from now."
Following the Congressional Budget Office's projection, a panel of CEOs suggested several changes to protect the Social Security program. A report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the suggestions include gradually raising the retirement age from 67 to 70, changing benefit formulas, updating the method for calculating cost of living adjustments and including newly hired state and local workers in the system.
The report says the plan would protect those 55 and older from cuts, but younger workers would face significant changes.
