In this Feb. 11, 2005 file photo, trays of printed social security checks wait to be mailed from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Management services facility in Philadelphia. The financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Social Security and Medicare is front and center as the government releases its annual report on the state of the bedrock retirement programs on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Bradley C. Bower, File)
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Martin Crutsinger
Social Security and Medicare, the government’s two biggest benefit programs, remain under intense financial pressure with the retirement of millions of baby boomers and a devastating pandemic putting increased pressures on the two programs’ finances.
A report from the programs’ trustees released Tuesday moved up by one year the date for the depletion of Social Security’s reserves, now projecting that Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2034 instead of 2035.
Medicare is still expected to exhaust its reserves in 2026, the same date as estimated last year.
“The finances of both programs have been significantly affected by the pandemic and the recession of 2020,” the trustees said.
The report noted that employment, earnings, interest rates, and economic growth plummeted in the second quarter of 2020 after the pandemic hit the United States.
The report said that “given the unprecedented level of uncertainty” there was no consensus on what the long-lasting effects of the pandemic will be on the two benefit programs.
When the Social Security trust fund is depleted the government will be able to pay 78% of scheduled benefits, the report said.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Thursday that he won’t seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state.
Authorities on Thursday were trying to determine who sent letters filled with fentanyl or other substances to local election offices, an attack that appears to have targeted multiple states in the latest instance of threats faced by election workers around the country.
The White House said Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting.
Columnist and political analyst Jonathan Harris joined Cheddar News to break down what stood out from Wednesday's third Republican presidential primary debate.
Mississippi's largest county ran out of ballots during Wednesday's governor's election as some voters say they had to wait for up to an hour for new ballots to be printed before they could cast their votes.
Republican presidential candidates used the third debate of the GOP primary campaign to show their support for Israel and display at least some willingness to criticize Donald Trump.
