“Key Takeaways: The Impact of COVID-19 on Social Security and Highlights from the Trustees’ 2020 Report,” by Chris Kaiser and Kara Watkins, Bipartisan Policy Center

Quote:
“What will COVID-19 do to Social Security’s finances?

With so much economic uncertainty, the biggest financial impact is likely to be a reduction in the payroll taxes that fund most of Social Security. BPC modeled a number of different scenarios to project the impacts of recessions of varying depth and length over the coming months and years. As an example, if tax revenue to Social Security decreases by 15% for 2020 and 2021, this would bump up the depletion date for the OASDI trust fund from 2035 to 2033. If the economic impact persisted longer, the depletion date could be as soon as this decade.”

 

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):

Well now, the Trump Administration isn’t contemplating a 15% cut to SS revenue. They want to eliminate the payroll tax altogether until the end of the year. What’ll that do to Social Security and Medicare?