AM I CONFUSED wrote:
Ok I see, but then do those pending SS payment only represent current recipients. How do they project how long each person will draw? Do they tally what that person has paid in the past, or what they expect them to collect in the future? I could swear I just read that last year SS officially ran a deficit. Do you think that is a fluke, or has the program tipped?
I don't know how they calculate that number or project what people will take out. Social security ran a small deficit last year, and that deficit will continue to grow, but it has been running surpluses since the 30s. If you look at it as being separate from the rest of the government account, then there is a huge amount of money in the pot. The government has been borrowing that money to pay for other programs though.
It shouldn't counted like the rest of the debt that was issued in the form of bonds because the government could potentially default on some of the money that it owes without any serious repercussions. The government could say it will not pay social security and medicare to people who have over $100 million and no one would really care. If it said it will not pay back the principal on treasury bills to people with over $100 million, the economy would completely collapse overnight.