Well, *I'm* ready

Social Security has been a topic of interest to me for a while although I pretty much stopped writing about it because it's clear that nobody cares.  But the program's baked-in insolvency isn't going away and the date of bankruptcy keeps creeping forward.  So here's another story: "Social Security's Day of Reckoning Could Arrive Soon. Are You Ready?"

Can Social Security be saved?

To be clear, Social Security isn't going bankrupt, and as of now, the worst-case scenario involves benefit cuts -- not a dissolution of the program itself. But significant benefit reductions are apt to be a huge problem for the millions of seniors who get most or all of their income from Social Security.

As it is, many beneficiaries today are struggling to make ends meet. Take away what could be 20% of their retirement income or more, and we're talking about a widespread financial crisis.

Current workers have an opportunity to avoid a serious financial shortfall in retirement by socking funds away in an IRA or 401(k) plan. But that's not an option existing retirees have. And so we have to hope that lawmakers will get moving on a solution to address Social Security's financial issues -- before that doomsday clock ticks down.

Simply put, the Social Security Trust Fund is running out of money which means either it needs to be replenished with new taxes or we have to toss aside the Trust Fund structure and just start paying out of the general fund by adding to our $30 trillion national debt.  

Personally, I have never factored Social Security into any of my retirement calculations and - humblebrag - I'm well positioned to live out my golden years (several years away now).  However, for the vast majority of Americans, the future is either 1) higher Social Security taxes, 2) reduced SS benefits, or 3) more borrowing which triggers inflation thereby reducing the value of those benefits.

That's it: there's no quick fix.  Stein's law applies: "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop."