Veteran analyst makes crucial Social Security prediction

Retirees may need to prepare for future cuts to the Social Security Administration.

Transcript

00:00I don't think it's going to create a collapse in the short term, and that's for a couple

00:06of reasons.

00:07One is the Social Security Act is the law, and at the moment, until the law changes,

00:13people will still get their benefits.

00:15Now, what people do need to worry about, at least in the short term, is the possibility

00:19that when the trust fund becomes depleted in 2033, they could see a reduction in their

00:25benefits on the order of 21%, and that could be an across-the-board cut for everybody if

00:30Congress doesn't act to replenish the trust fund in some form or fashion.

00:35As you think about what could happen because of cuts to the Social Security Administration,

00:39there are a couple of key action steps to take.

00:42One is to make sure that you create a MySocialSecurity account.

00:46Go to ssa.gov to establish an online account, and this will help protect you against fraud

00:51and allow you to review your earnings history.

00:55And then speaking of your earnings history, you want to make sure that you're looking

00:58at your record for any errors, and you want to make sure if there are errors that you

01:03contact Social Security immediately to correct them.

01:06Then the next thing you want to make sure that you do is to secure your Social Security card.

01:11You want to put that in a separate secure location.

01:13Maybe you have a firebox in your home.

01:15You can put it in there.

01:16And then whatever you do, don't rush to make a filing decision.

01:21The staffing cuts at SSA should not influence when you decide to file for benefits.

01:26Ultimately, you want to consider what's in your best interest as opposed to what's happening

01:30at SSA.

01:32And then when in doubt, seek professional help.

01:34There are a number of organizations and institutions where you can go to get free help.

01:40There's something called the Registered Social Security Analyst, and you can find them at

01:45rssa.com.

01:47And then there are some free resources.

01:49MRP has a Social Security Resource Center.

01:51The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College also has information about Social

01:55Security.