Insider Interview: The Future of Social Security
What is the current state of Social Security's financial health? And what might be the best ways to shore up the program for future generations? As the Social Security Administration's chief actuary, Stephen Goss is responsible for producing the actuarial estimates and analysis that can help answer those questions. In this lightly edited conversation with Senior Editor Eleanor Laise, Goss reflects on his 46 years at Social Security and discusses the solvency of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays retirement and survivor benefits, and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund, which pays disability benefits. (These are legally separate entities, but Social Security trustees look at a hypothetical combined trust fund to gauge the program's overall financial stability.)
According to the most recent trustees report, the Social Security trust funds [the hypothetical combination of the OASI and DI trust funds] will be depleted in 2035, at which point they'd
