The $40 trillion national debt is growing while Social Security goes broke—because wealthy Boomers are collecting over $100k in benefits per year
Boomers are getting 265% returns from Social Security—and the “great wealth transfer” won’t save Gen Z.
The United States is grappling with an increasingly costly retirement phase as the national debt surpasses $40 trillion, while Social Security faces insolvency by 2032. Wealthy baby boomers are collecting over $100,000 in annual benefits, contributing to a stark generational divide over the program's future. Social Security, a pay-as-you-go system, is unsustainable due to the aging of baby boomers and a shrinking workforce.
The Congressional Budget Office projects federal spending on Social Security and Medicare to account for 81% of the increase in mandatory spending between 2023 and 2033. Interest on the debt further exacerbates the financial burden, with projections exceeding $1 trillion in 2026 and rising to $2.1 trillion by 2036. A Cato Institute survey revealed that only 34% of Gen Z respondents expect Social Security to exist at retirement, with 79% of younger respondents expecting cuts to their own benefits.
Without action, Social Security could experience an automatic 22% reduction in benefits once the retirement trust fund is exhausted around 2034.
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