Worried Social Security Benefits Will Be Cut? This Is How Much More You Need to Save to Be Safe

The health and stability of the Social Security system are on the minds of Americans who are close to and in retirement. More than half of Americans who aren’t yet retired lack confidence that they’ll have the same Social Security benefits as current retirees, according to a recent study from the National Institute for Retirement Security (NIRS). Just 31% of Gen Xers and 28% of women are very confident they’ll have the same benefits as current retirees, the study showed, while 52% of boomers and 49% of men were very or somewhat confident that they would have the same benefits as previous generations.

Is there a real reason to worry that future Social Security benefits could be reduced? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. There is a shrinking window of opportunity to shore up the Social Security trust fund; in 2033, 8 years from now, the trust will be insolvent and unable to pay full benefits by 2035. At that point, if nothing else is done, the program could pay about 83% of scheduled benefits, mostly out of workers’ ongoing contributions.