Social Security Trustees Lower Solvency Estimate

By John Ydstie

Published March 23, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST

The trustees of the Social Security system say it will exhaust its assets in 2041, a year earlier than previously estimated. They also moved up by a year the point when the nation's retirement program's outlays will begin to exceed revenues from the payroll tax.

The Medicare trust fund is projected to exhaust its assets in 2020. The data came as the trustees release their annual report on the system's finances.

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John Ydstie

John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.