Baby Boom

At 2 p.m. today, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson presented the annual Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report. The good news is that the solvency of the trust funds hasn't changed much over the past year. The Social Security Trust Fund will remain solvent until 2041, and the Medicare Trust Fund until 2019.

Most Americans believe Social Security won't pay equal-value benefits in the future. Most Social Security experts say Social Security can be kept solvent well beyond the retirement of the Baby Boomers over the next 20 years with relatively modest changes to the GROWTH of future benefits and to payroll tax rates. Even if nothing were done, after 2041, Social Security could still pay 75 cents per dollar of benefits due into the future.