This week saw the release of the annual report by the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.  If you haven’t read it yet, let me sum it up for you.

It isn’t pretty.

The summary of the report opens with “The financial condition of the Social Security and Medicare programs remains challenging.”

Some might call that an understatement.

It seems that, once again, previous estimates as to the continued viability of the program had to be revised.

The assets of the Social Security Trust funds are now expected to be exhausted (as in no money left) in 2037. That’s a full four years earlier than last year’s report!

“Medicare’s financial status is much worse,” says the report. The trust funds that provide for Medicare are now expected to run out in 2017. That is less than 8 years away!

If you are the type that loves a good tragedy, feel free to check out the report for yourself.

You’ve probably known for quite some time that Social Security and Medicare are in a bit of trouble.  The recent economic downturn seems to have accelerated the draining of the already crippled trust funds.

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Filed under: Uncategorized on May 15th, 2009