Dana Gibson, Certified Financial Fiduciary’s Post

The Social Security trustees announced just recently a significant improvement in the financial status of the trust fund. Even though the trust fund is still significantly under funded changes in a positive direction. This is a quote from the most recent announcement: “If the OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund projections are combined, the resulting projected fund (designated OASDI) would be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2035, 1 year later than reported last year. At that time, the projected fund’s reserves would become depleted, and continuing total fund income would be sufficient to pay 83 percent of scheduled benefits. (The two funds could not actually be combined unless there were a change in the law, but the combined projection of the two funds is frequently used to indicate the overall status of the Social Security program.)” Incidentally, the 2023 report had the benefit reduction down to 80% of benefits. That being said, the better solution to the Social Security problem is to allow the trustees to invest the funds in investments other than government securities as anyone with fiduciary responsibility would be allowed to do. Obviously controls would have to be put in place to prevent the government from controlling the market more than they already do. But that can be done outside trustees and putting the voting shares of companies in blind trusts. Failure to do that makes this option very unpalatable. https://lnkd.in/e9-xiW4s

"Increases to pay related social insurance (PRSI) proposed by the Government are broadly “progressive” in nature, with the burden of higher contributions falling mostly on higher income households, new research has found. Still, further increases will be required after 2028 to deal with projected deficits in the State pension. The findings are contained in two Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) reports published on Wednesday. Researchers examined the impact of the proposed increases to PRSI contributions, which are to be implemented each year from 2024 to 2028 under the roadmap set out by the Coalition last year to combat a widening shortfall in the Social Insurance Fund out of which the State pension is paid." 💡 Read the key findings from Budget Perpsectives 2025: https://lnkd.in/e_QU4TCW 📰 Read coverage in The Irish Times:

👀 MUST READ POST - THEY'RE GUARANTEEING YOU'LL LOSE MONEY 👀 Did anyone see the Fauci and Garland testimonies on the Hill this week? While news headlines focused on Fauci and Garland, a critical Social Security testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee went unnoticed – and it’s something every American worker and retiree needs to hear. THIS MEANS YOU! Social Security is a critical program that directly impacts the lives of nearly all working Americans and retirees. The system is funded by contributions from workers (<insert your name here>), and those contributions are used to pay benefits to current retirees. However, during the committee meeting the Chief Actuary of Social Security plainly stated that Social Security's key trust fund will be fully depleted sometime between April and November of 2033, less than a decade from now. In nine years, when the trust fund is depleted, the Chief Actuary warned that retiree benefits will be cut by over 20%. This drastic reduction will be necessary because payroll tax revenue will be the sole remaining funding source for benefits at that time. We aren't statisticians at Ingram Capital, but when the head statistician of Social Security says that we're all guaranteed to lose money with lower benefits or higher taxes (probably both), we pay close attention. Ingram Capital exists to help you passively invest in real estate in order to create the life you dream about. We cannot fix Social Security, but we can help you enjoy more financial well-being in your life. Join our investor tribe today and we'll be happy to show you how! https://lnkd.in/gz7P9cHb Bryant Dawson Billy Helvey Morgan Ehrenzeller Read the SSA report: https://lnkd.in/gwSU_KwE

Social Security Wrestles With $63 Trillion in Unfunded Liabilities Findings complement other reports identifying the fiscal deterioration of Social Security. - Social Security is facing $63 trillion in long-term unfunded liabilities, according to the 2024 Old Age, Survivors, Disability Insurance (OASDI) trustees report. - The OASDI report assessed the infinite horizon unfunded obligation and a 75-year projection. The former highlighted a shortfall of $62.8 trillion, and the latter projected a deficit of nearly $23 trillion. - Officials say that the summarized deficits reflect annual cash-flow shortfalls in the years following the depletion of trust funds reserves. - OASDI trustees note that the shortfall could be eliminated if the combined payroll tax rate was raised to “about 17.0 percent” or if there were a “permanent reduction in benefits for all current and future beneficiaries by about 26.5 percent.” https://lnkd.in/gP-nPuri

According to a survey published by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, only 30% of Americans know that the Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance Fund is projected to become insolvent in 2033. Once made aware of the cuts, 97% of those respondents agreed that leaders elected in November of this year should take action to help shore up the funds, a think tank focused on addressing fiscal challenges including the national debt. Social Security has already been a talking point for both presidential candidates, and was a subject of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address earlier this year. According to the Social Security Administration’s 2024 Trustee Report, the OASI Fund on its own is projected to have to cut benefits by 21% in 2033 when it exhausts its reserves. Details here: https://lnkd.in/gWxsuyiU #soxialsecurity #retirement #hr #humanresources

The question everyone has: Will Social Security be around for you? For most Americans, #SocialSecurity has represented nothing more than some unavoidable payroll deduction with the positively cryptic initials of "FICA" and "OASDI" (Federal Insurance Contributions Act and Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance). It hinted at a future that seemed both intangible and far away. Yet, some Americans now sit on the cusp of drawing on the promise that was made with those payments. Read this → https://lnkd.in/ej3g_bk2

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀: 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲; 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 The Social Security Administration (SSA) released its annual Medicare Trustees’ Report (the Report), earlier this month. The Report states that due to an improving economy, the Medicare and Social Security programs will run out of money later than last year’s annual report estimated. Still, the Report warns that both of these programs need to make policy changes if they are going to continue to be able to pay Americans the full benefits they have earned. 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 is the federal health insurance program for people age 65+, and people under age 65 with certain severe disabilities and health conditions. In 2023, Medicare insured over 66 million people. Medicare was previously estimated to be out of money in 2031; the Report extends that date to 2036. It says this is due partly to higher payroll tax income collected in 2023, along with lower expenses than were anticipated. However, once Medicare’s trust fund reserves are gone, it will only be able to pay for 89% of fully insured Americans’ hospital visits, hospice care, nursing home stays, and in-home healthcare visits after their hospital stays. The 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 trust fund, which covers people age 62+ and those who are disabled, was originally calculated to run out of money in 2034; but the Report pushes that date to 2035. Once Social Security’s trust fund reserves run out, it will only be able to pay fully insured Americans 83% of the benefits they earned. Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley called the Report, “a measure of good news.” In fairness, he also said, “Congress still needs to act in order to avoid what is now forecast to be, in absence of their action, a 17% cut to people’s Social Security benefits.” Right now, approximately 71 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. The Congressional Budget Office says the reason our national debt keeps growing in relation to our GDP (gross domestic product) is that interest costs and spending for Medicare and Social Security are increasing because the average American lives longer. The Report projects Medicare income to be higher in 2024 than in 2023 because more workers are covered. Also, so far in 2024, average wages are higher, and expenses are lower. However, the decrease in expenses is mainly due to a change in the way Medicare Advantage healthcare plan rates are reported, together with reduced spending on inpatient hospital care and home health agency services. So, unfortunately, no matter how The Report tries to spin it, the bad news is that Medicare and Social Security are still going broke; they’re just going broke a bit more slowly.

The Social Security Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, responsible for distributing benefits to retirees, is projected to deplete its reserves by 2033, as indicated in the latest trustee report covered by ThinkAdvisor's John Manganaro. This report includes perspectives from Jason Fichtner of the Bipartisan Policy Center and Nancy Altman from Social Security Works. Fichtner warns that political dynamics are pushing the U.S. toward inevitable benefit reductions of over 20% once the fund is exhausted. He advocates for "pragmatic, bipartisan policymaking" as the only solution to avoid these cuts. On a more optimistic note, Altman points out improvements in the trust fund’s forecast. She mentions that Social Security can now fully pay all promised benefits until 2035, which is a year longer than previously predicted, and can fund 83% of benefits thereafter, an upgrade from last year's predictions—even without congressional action. #SocialSecurity #RetirementPlanning John Manganaro Jason Fichtner, Ph.D. ThinkAdvisor Campaign to Strengthen Social Security & Social Security Works Bipartisan Policy Center EPMiller Consulting

This poll has closed and the overwhelming choice is one that I disagree with. At least that is not the answer I had in mind. The question tests our knowledge of social security schemes and regulators in Nigeria. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) describes Social security as the protection that a society provides to individuals and households to ensure access to health care and to guarantee income security, particularly in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, work injury, maternity or loss of a breadwinner. Modern social security systems have broader schemes beyond this minimum. In Nigeria, the social security schemes available include compulsory health insurance, pension, compensation for workplace injury and death, compulsory life insurance, contributory pension scheme and voluntary contributory housing schemes. These schemes are regulated by various government agencies. This takes us back to the question. The first option National Pension Commission (PENCOM) regulates the contributory pension scheme. The second option, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) administers the trust fund set up to provide compensation for workers who suffer injury or die in the course of employment. Many chose the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) as not being a social security regulatory authority. However, except we disagree that housing is a form of social security, this cannot be correct. Section 7 of the National Housing Fund Act vests the power to manage the National Housing Fund (NHF) in the FMBN. The NHF is a contributory scheme that allows workers access mortgage loans at low interest rates and longer tenors than regular financial institutions. It gives workers a chance of owning their own homes backed with loans from the Federal Government. Variants of this scheme exists in some states like Lagos. The last option is the National Health Insurance Scheme. This is a trick option because this option mentions the scheme and not the regulator. While the scheme is a form of social security, the regulator is the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA). So the answer to the question is option C: National Health Insurance Scheme. Congrats to Adetutu Odufuye 'Bade A.Oluwadamilola AdejumoNosakhare Idemudia LL.B, B.L, ACIPM@ogundare ayotunde Dolapo Femi-Oyekola, ACIPM, PHRiAmanda Egbe Tandu I am eager to hear differing views especially from the majority that chose the FMBN as their answer.

(MSN MONEY) - "Social Security Trust Funds Shrank by $41 Billion Last Year. Here's What That Means for Retirees." The Social Security program's trust funds shrank by $41 billion in 2023, and we expect these deficits to continue over the coming years. In the near term, this won't affect Social Security's beneficiaries, but the long-term consequences could take a huge toll on everyone who counts on their benefits to make ends meet. Find The Most AFFORDABLE Health & DENTAL Insurance At: HI4E.org #MedicareInsolvency #DebtCeiling #SocialSecurity #SSICostOfLivingIncreases #CostOfLiving #SSIBenefits #HealthInsurance4Everyone #RetirementBenefits #SocialSecurityInsolvency #SSITaxes #MedicareSpending #CostOfLivingIncreasesForSSI #Retirees #SocialSecurityIncrease #SSICOLAIncreases #SeniorBenefits #COLA #SocialSecurityFundsDepleted #OldAgeSurvivorsInsurance #OASI #SocialSecurityIncrease #MedicareHospitalInsuranceFunds #HealthAndLifeSolutions #SocialSecurityReform #SSIBenefitsCuts #RetirementFunds #PensionPlans #RetireeBenefits #SocialSecurityTrustFund