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.
Six young adults and children argued that governments across Europe aren’t doing enough to protect people from climate change at the European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday in the latest and largest instance of activists taking governments to court to force climate action.
Seven Republican presidential candidates will take the stage at the party's second primary debate in California. Jonathan Harris, a columnist and political analyst, joined Cheddar News to break down what to expect as 2024 nears.
The American soldier who sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas more than two months ago was whisked to a Texas Army base Thursday for medical checks and interviews after his return to the U.S., according to the Pentagon.
Republican presidential hopefuls have largely shunned TikTok, the hugely popular video-sharing app that some in both parties allege is a potential spy mechanism for China.
