Cost of Social Security will exceed program's income in 2021, says board of trustees

Social Security payouts next year will exceed incoming revenue, according to a new Social Security Board of Trustees audit.

In their annual report to Congress, the trustees announced that in 2021 the cost of the Social Security program will for the first time since 1982 "exceed total annual income” – leading to a depletion of asset reserves that will run out completely by 2035.

A press release from the committee clarifies that these bleak projections do not take into account the potential financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Social Security program.

The trustees do not believe it is possible to effectively adjust estimates based on a continuing pandemic.

However, Commissioner Andrew Saul said, “The duration and severity of the pandemic will affect the estimates presented in this year’s report and the financial status of the program, particularly in the short term.”

The Social Security board of trustees is typically comprised of six members, though currently there are two public trustee positions vacant. The board, at present, consists of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commissioner of Social Security Andrew Saul, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and Eugene Scalia, the secretary of Labor.