WASHINGTON (AP) – The nation’s framework for economic security and health care in retirement is financially unsustainable, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to the presidential candidates.
This week the Social Security and Medicare trustees warned of tough choices ahead to keep the two programs solvent over the long run. Together, Social Security and Medicare account for about 40 percent of federal spending, providing inflation-protected monthly checks and health insurance for tens of millions of seniors and disabled people. Working families benefit, too, when elders can live independently.
But the taxes supporting both programs can’t keep pace with rising spending. Over time, Medicare and Social Security will rely more and more on accumulated reserves in their trust funds. Eventually there won’t be enough to pay full benefits. Medicare’s trust fund will run out in 2028, and Social Security’s in 2034.
The candidates have said little to acknowledge the issue, although it’s at the root of the government’s budget problems. They may not be able to avoid it once in the White House. Health care costs, in particular, can be volatile. And liberals and conservatives agree it’s important to act sooner rather than later, to avoid disruptions for retirees and workers.
Unusual for a Republican, Donald Trump has promised not to cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, the health care program for low-income people. His campaign has suggested he’d revisit government benefit programs – known as entitlements – after his tax-cut plan boosts economic growth. But critics say the Trump plan would just pile up more debt, making it harder to deal with changes to big programs.