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The Social Security system in the United States is in deep trouble.<\/p>\n
According to the 2025 Trustees report (1), the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund, which pays benefits to retirees and survivors, could be depleted by 2033, leaving it able to cover only 77% of obligations \u2014 already a decrease of 2% from 2024\u2019s estimate (2).<\/p>\n
With time running out, experts and lawmakers are divided on solutions, from benefit cuts and raising the retirement age to expanding revenue sources (3).<\/p>\n
Labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci, a renowned thought-leader on U.S. retirement issues, believes there are \u201cmany easy fixes\u201d \u2014 and here\u2019s what she recommends.<\/p>\n
Ghilarducci believes the solution to Social Security\u2019s challenges is simple: Bring in more revenue, and soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are past the point where we can fix Social Security by cutting benefits,\u201d she told Bloomberg (4). \u201cThat is a non-starter because the benefits for Social Security are keeping almost all of the people on Social Security \u2026 above the poverty level.\u201d<\/p>\n
But sitting above the poverty level in retirement isn\u2019t exactly the stuff of Hallmark cards. So, if you’re concerned that Social Security might not replace your income and fully support the retirement you want, it could pay to speak to a qualified financial advisor to ensure you\u2019re maximizing your retirement contributions and creating a stronger bankroll for your golden years.<\/p>\n
Hiring an advisor can be a lifelong commitment, which might make or break your retirement. That\u2019s why finding reliable advisors is crucial.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, finding the right advisor is simple with Advisor.com<\/a>. Their platform connects you with licensed financial professionals in your area who can provide personalized guidance.<\/p>\n A professional advisor<\/a> can also help you determine how many years you have left to invest before retirement and assess your comfort level with market fluctuations \u2014 two key factors in building the right asset mix for your portfolio.<\/p>\n Through Advisor.com, you can schedule a free, no-obligation consultation<\/a> to discuss your retirement goals and start building a long-term financial plan beyond Social Security.<\/p>\n Read More: Approaching retirement with no savings? Don\u2019t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Not everyone is convinced that pumping more money into Social Security is the answer, especially with the U.S. debt nearing $39 trillion, as of January 2026 (5). This daunting figure is particularly relevant to Social Security, which already represents the government\u2019s single largest expense, accounting for 22% of federal spending so far in the 2026 fiscal year (6).<\/p>\n Demands on the program will only grow, too. Life expectancy has continued to increase in the United States, with the number of Americans aged 65 and older expected to rise from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050 (7). As a result, benefit payments will continue climbing, with around $1.6 trillion estimated to be paid out in 2025, according to a fact sheet released by the U.S. Social Security Administration (8).<\/p>\n Some argue for raising the retirement age to 67 or even 70 to address these pressures, while others suggest structural reforms or benefit cuts. However, with no clear consensus in Washington, the future of Social Security remains in limbo, highlighting the importance of securing a reliable retirement plan that can withstand potential changes.<\/p>\n Something that is not uncertain is the importance of building a solid nest egg for a secure retirement \u2014 especially if you want to rely less on Social Security.<\/p>\n Finance experts like Suze Orman have long touted the idea that by focusing on growing your retirement accounts and diversifying your investments, you can create a stronger financial foundation.<\/p>\n Equally important is having an emergency fund, which can protect your savings from unexpected expenses without jeopardizing your retirement goals. After all, the last thing you want is to have to liquidate your retirement fund to cover a hospital stay.<\/p>\n In an era of economic uncertainty, securing your financial future may require a more proactive approach than in the past \u2014 one that goes further than old age security.<\/p>\n For instance, if you\u2019re optimizing your investments for stability, gold is typically more stable than stocks during economic downturns and recessions. In fact, the price of an ounce of gold has soared in the past 10 years, from $1,116 in January 2016, to a new high of $4,995.50 in late January (9).<\/p>\n If gold sounds appealing, you can now invest in the precious metal directly. One way to do so that can also provide significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.<\/p>\n To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to secure up to $10,000 in free silver<\/a> on qualifying purchases. You can also download a free information guide<\/a> to find out if a gold IRA is the right move for your retirement goals.<\/p>\n While building personal wealth through smart, independent investing has never been more essential, it\u2019s also important not to forget about putting aside an emergency fund \u2014 distinct from retirement savings so you don\u2019t have to dip into long-term investments when unexpected expenses arise.<\/p>\n Daunting as it may be to think about, there are ways to grow your emergency fund that are less stressful and more hands-off than you would think.<\/p>\n One of the best ways to grow your emergency fund is a high-yield account. A high-yield account offers higher interest rates than those of a traditional savings account, thus generating more money from interest in less time than a traditional savings account.<\/p>\n To get started, a high-yield account, such as a Wealthfront Cash Account<\/a>, can be a great place to grow your funds, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your cash when you need it.<\/p>\n The Wealthfront Cash Account provides a base variable APY of 3.25%, but new clients can get a 0.65% boost over their first three months for a total APY of 3.90%<\/a> provided by program banks on your uninvested cash. That\u2019s about eight times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC\u2019s January report.<\/p>\n With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24\/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, you can ensure your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $8 million are insured<\/a> by the FDIC through program banks.<\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. Social Security Administration (1<\/a>), (2<\/a>), (3<\/a>), (8<\/a>); Bloomberg (4<\/a>); U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (5<\/a>); U.S. Department of the Treasury (6<\/a>); Population Reference Bureau (7<\/a>); Macrotrends (9<\/a>)<\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bloomberg Television\/YouTube Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":540220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,7780,30355,4061,700,711,131876,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-540219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-dave-ramsey","10":"tag-emergency-fund","11":"tag-jeff-bezos","12":"tag-retirement","13":"tag-social-security","14":"tag-teresa-ghilarducci","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115951963339236535","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}