Originally Posted by White Rabbit

These are the only kind of authorative sources - Congressional Budget office (CBO) or the SS Trust Fund for this topic.

And, suprise, surprise, I got the 2042 number from the same source and loe and behold, your link states the same number as 2041 - the year, under present projections of revenues and expenses, that Social Security is presently fully funded until.

That's the point I made and that point has been confirmed by all reputable reports upon the topic.

So, now that we two are at least agreed on the core number here, what is it that you would like to discuss about it?

The easiest way to head-off any future funding shortfall would be to double the US immigration intake (doesn't really matter if they are the US-preferred illegal variety or the quite rare 'legal' immigrant variety).

A combination of small and incremental increases in the Social Security payroll tax phased in over the next 10-20 years in combination with a steady stream of immigrants should essentially address this funding shortfall. If the US does nothing about SS, the program will run as it is until 2041, not 2017 as some others like to pretend.

The really serious issue, in my opinion, is Medicare. That is where the USA is looking at a huge funding shortfall in the short to near term horizon. I don't see any simple solution to this problem - the tax increases needed to sustain this program over the next 10-20 years is substantial and unpalatable.