Social Security Administration (SSA) commissioner Frank Bisignano says he anticipates the federal government program will continue to exist for “another 90 years.”
“This is a long journey. It’s 90 years old,” Bisignano told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday, saying the Trump administration has pledged to “protect and preserve” the fund.
However, according to Social Security’s own trustees’ report, the retirement trust fund is estimated to run out of money and become insolvent as early as the fourth quarter of 2032, in about six years.
The predictions come at a time when many seniors are already struggling with the skyrocketing cost of living, including rising prices for food, utilities, and gas.
On Wednesday, the SSA is scheduled to release its highly anticipated cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) numbers for 2027. AARP expects a 3.6% adjustment, or an extra $75, on average, per monthly check.
Those numbers are expected after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases its consumer price index based on September inflation data.
Some 71 million Americans—including 54 million retired workers and 9 million of their survivors and dependents—receive monthly Social Security benefits, according to the SSA.
As Fast Company previously reported, the Trump administration is also sending a onetime $90 payment to more than 20 million Social Security recipients to help with their Medicare Part B coverage premiums, and a $500 “refund” check to nearly 1 million Obamacare enrollees who the administration claims were overcharged by the Affordable Care Act when signing up for health insurance in three dozen states.
However, critics have called out the timing of these so-called rebates and payments, which come just weeks ahead of the nation’s midterm elections on November 3.
