![Social Security Card with Money](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-10/social-security-card-with-money%20Cropped.jpg?itok=sxinoBUs) # Social Security At a Glance Social Security is on an unsustainable path. According to the latest projections, it will reach technical insolvency by 2033, threatening retirees with automatic 23 percent benefit cuts. The program is also a major driver of persistent federal deficits and mounting debt. Policymakers should not delay reforms any further and consider fundamentally rethinking the program’s structure—to protect seniors from old-age poverty, spare younger workers from higher tax burdens, and move the United States toward fiscal sustainability. Share This Topic #### Featured Content [![Reimagining Social Security](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-08/Reimagining%20Social%20Security_16x9.jpg?itok=-G1STGQh)](https://www.cato.org/books/reimagining-social-security) books ## [*Reimagining Social Security*](/books/reimagining-social-security) By [Romina Boccia](https://www.cato.org/people/romina-boccia) and [Ivane Nachkebia](https://www.cato.org/people/ivane-nachkebia) *Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes* explains what is wrong with Social Security and how major retirement program reforms from Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Sweden could work in the United States. Combining interviews and new analysis, this book lays out real-world solutions that protect seniors, preserve individual liberty, and fit the American economic model. [![Man holding back hands of a clock in front of Social Security card](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-07/GettyImages-1455566007.jpg?itok=x2iqw4fI)](https://www.cato.org/blog/poll-nearly-1-4-americans-think-they-have-personal-social-security-account-3) blog ### [Poll: Nearly 1 in 4 Americans Think They Have a Personal Social Security Account](/blog/poll-nearly-1-4-americans-think-they-have-personal-social-security-account-3) By [Emily Ekins](https://www.cato.org/people/emily-ekins) and Hunter Johnson With Social Security projected to run out of money within the decade, new polling from the Cato Institute provides important insight into how Americans feel about the system and what its future may be. [![trump executive orders](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-01/trump%20executive%20orders%20.jpg?itok=3R7UShhG)](https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-accounts-wont-replace-social-security-or-help-americans-build-significant-wealth) blog ### [Trump Accounts Won’t Replace Social Security or Help Americans Build Significant Wealth](/blog/trump-accounts-wont-replace-social-security-or-help-americans-build-significant-wealth) By [Adam N. Michel](https://www.cato.org/people/adam-n-michel) New “Trump Accounts” promise to build wealth but offer little tax benefit and add more complexity to an already fractured savings system. [![Social Security Trust Fund Visual Feature - Piggy Bank Hero Still](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-04/socialsecurity-trustfundmyth-piggy.jpg?itok=A9JpsWS2)](https://www.cato.org/visual-feature/social-securitys-financial-crisis) Study ### [Social Security’s Financial Crisis: The Trust Fund Myth Uncovered](/visual-feature/social-securitys-financial-crisis) By [Romina Boccia](https://www.cato.org/people/romina-boccia) and [Ivane Nachkebia](https://www.cato.org/people/ivane-nachkebia) Most people misunderstand the Social Security trust fund, believing it holds real financial assets that ensure future benefits. But there’s a big problem. [![Woman Struggling Financially with Open Wallet and Calculator](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-09/woman-struggling-financially.jpg?itok=cz6BPIRQ)](https://www.cato.org/blog/young-workers-could-lose-110000-lifetime-earnings-keep-social-security-solvent) blog ### [Young Workers Could Lose $110,000 in Lifetime Earnings to Keep Social Security Solvent](/blog/young-workers-could-lose-110000-lifetime-earnings-keep-social-security-solvent) By [Romina Boccia](https://www.cato.org/people/romina-boccia) and [Ivane Nachkebia](https://www.cato.org/people/ivane-nachkebia) The promises to keep Social Security benefits exactly as currently legislated are immensely expensive for younger workers, whether Congress tries to levy additional taxes on all workers or only on those with earnings above the payroll tax cap. ![Reimagining Social Security_bookcover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2025-08/Reimagining%20Social%20Security_bookcover.jpg?itok=4kdrchxo) ##### RELATED EVENT ### *[Reimagining Social Security](https://www.cato.org/events/reimagining-social-security-global-lessons-retirement-policy-changes)* **October 30, 2025 • 9 AM — 12 PM EDT** Join us for the official launch of *Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes*. In order to find real-world solutions that protect seniors, preserve individual liberty, and fit the American economic model, Cato Institute scholars Romina Boccia and Ivane Nachkebia bring together leading experts in retirement and fiscal policy to examine international case studies and provide actionable policy solutions to show how the United States can reform its retirement system without burdening younger generations with unsustainable debt and taxes. [Watch the Event](https://www.cato.org/events/reimagining-social-security-global-lessons-retirement-policy-changes)