Every year, the government-appointed Board of Trustees releases a report on the financial outlook for the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. The Trustees released the 2019 Trustees Report on April 22, 2019. It reported:
- The year when the combined trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted, if Congress does not act before then, is 2035– one year later than projected last year. At that time, there will be sufficient income coming in to pay 80 percent of scheduled benefits.
- The projected actuarial deficit over the 75-year long-range period is 2.78 percent of taxable payroll – lower than the 2.84 percent projected in last year's report.
- The total annual cost of the program is projected to exceed total annual income, for the first time since 1982, in 2020 and remain higher throughout the 75-year projection period. As a result, asset reserves are expected to decline during 2020. Social Security’s cost has exceeded its non-interest income since 2010.