Worried About Social Security and Medicare Going Bust? Yes? No?
If you’re not worried about Social Security and Medicare funding, that’s fine. Who needs it, anyway? Well, I might suggest having a plan. Because, you know, just in case.
Introduction
Have you read the latest information from the Congressional Budget Office that says that Social Security and Medicare, without action by Congress, will run out of money by 2032? Is this another holy moly moment for you or is it just another day?
What that means is, unless something is done, we are looking at about a 20% reduction in benefits. If you are retired, that’s substantial. If you are hoping to retire someday, that’s substantial. Click on the link in Note 1 to see a summary, or click on the link in Note 2 to see the complete report.
If you took my course or read my book (Note 4), you will remember extensive discussion about the importance of Social Security and Medicare in the fall season of our lives after we are no longer working and can, unless we are adequately prepared, least afford it. I also wrote about this situation in a previous blog post. If you’d like to reread it, please visit my website at http://absuccesspartners.com. Click on the Blog heading at the top, scroll down, and locate the blog from August 12, 2025.
Here’s the point: Adequate planning, the kind we advocate and teach at Afterburner Success Partners, considers all reasonable potential events, both good and bad, and their effect on our present and future lives. So, whether SSA and Medicare reduce benefits or simply stop paying them, you have planned for it and are prepared. Why? So you can achieve your dreams and live your best life!
Here’s the deal
If you are still working, I hope retirement planning is part of your lifetime goal plan, like we teach in the Afterburner Success Partners course, and I cover in my book. If you are nearing or in retirement, then I hope you planned for the worst, should that happen, and you are able to absorb a substantial reduction or complete termination of Social Security and Medicare. In all cases, proper planning allows us to go on living our best lives without undue hardship when things like this occur. That’s an important statement I just made there, and I hope you took it in.
Let’s get into this at a high level, because I discuss this topic extensively elsewhere, and the purpose of today’s post is to alert you and prompt you to action if needed due to this new information from the CBO. In either case, it may warrant a review of your plan. That review may prompt you to action so that’s why we want to do it sooner rather than later.
A few basics
As part of your long-term financial and, thus, lifetime planning, you should have factored Social Security and Medicare into your strategy. As I mentioned above, today’s post is not to get into the details, but to alert you to the new information the CBO just put out and cause you to think about what its impact may be on you. Here are two things I want to highlight that I want you to be able to say, “Yes, I’ve thought about those things and factored them into my plan.” If not, then, well, you may have work to do.
Social Security-I’m going to assume for a moment you are working in a career position. I hope you have already set up your online Social Security Account. Yes? No? If you haven't already, you can go to the SSA website and do it today. The link is here: https://www.ssa.gov Once you have an account, you can run various planning scenarios to see what your expected benefits will be once you retire. There are a few things you should be aware of, however. Your projected income is based on what you are making today, and if you are promoted or expect to earn more over the years, it will increase. Similarly, if you retire early, lose your job, or experience a pay reduction, the planning exercise will have to be repeated with the new information. You can also run projections of monthly payments depending upon when you retire such as age 62, 65, 67 or even 70. This will give you a rough idea of what to expect once you retire, assuming current funding and payouts stay the same. Obviously, today’s discussion involves planning if things do not stay the same.
If you are already retired and receive Social Security, it is what it is. If there is a reduction in benefits, I hope you have planned for this and will be able to absorb those reductions, should they occur. If not, there is some work to do to develop an alternate plan.
One more thing before we move on. It’s likely that Congress will do something to continue funding SSA. But if you dig around that report in Note 2 from the CBO and look at the current and projected financial state of our country, then you could see where, yes, at some point, something will have to give. That “give” will likely be an increase in taxes…Do you see why we have to take care of ourselves from the start of our working life?
Medicare-Medicare is not something many people think about. Until they are about to retire and must sign up for it. And then sometimes, maybe more than sometimes, there is a crisis that was unexpected because no one thought about it in advance. We’ll get into that in a minute. Should you be fortunate enough to have a career position that includes retiree medical benefits, that is an amazing benefit and worth a lot of money to you. Congratulations! Diane and I were once covered under a retiree medical program, but when the Company ran into financial trouble, the plan was terminated. Again, these are the unforeseen things we must plan for so they don’t hurt us too badly.
For most of us, when we turn 65, Medicare will be the default insurance. But it’s not that simple to take an afternoon and sign up, and I refer you back to the course and the previous blog. But here are just a couple of things to think about:
Traditional Medicare (Part B) or Medicare Advantage (Part C)?
Supplemental insurance? (Part G or similar)
Prescription coverage (Part D)?
How much money are you making at retirement? It will affect your Medicare monthly premiums! Note: There are strategies you can apply to help with this.
IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) concerns? It’s nice to make a lot of money in retirement, but it can come with significantly increased medical insurance costs.
Summary
You probably understand where I’m going with all of this and why I brought it up today. Your lifetime goals plan should account for unforeseen events that could affect your standard of living. Sometimes, depending upon your financial situation, a 20% reduction in Social Security or an increase in Medicare costs could drastically affect your life. The CBO just sent up a warning flare…
I just want you to be smart and plan ahead. Don’t be subject to the will of others, including the government, but fund the lifestyle you want. Remember how we discussed the income stool and how many legs yours has? Ideally, you want three or four legs on your stool such that if you lose one leg or see a reduction in one leg, you can still stand strong. Typically, these legs consist of things such as a pension, Social Security, 401(k), IRA, and other income, such as rental property or income from a job or investments outside of a 401(k) or IRA. You get the idea.
That’s all for today!
Worried About Social Security and Medicare Funding?
Afterburner Success Partners
http://absuccesspartners.com/
What’s in it for me?
If you want to get ahead in life, if you want to achieve your dreams and live your best life, you must take meaningful, deliberate action that follows a proven path. Getting ahead in business and your career is about learning what to do and then doing it over time.
Call to Action
Honestly consider if you need to make some changes. Or, perhaps you may want to learn a few things. Purchase any of the books noted below. Take the Afterburner Success Partners course. Tell a friend.
Recommended Resources
See notes below for either of my books.
Up Next
Review Time 8!
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Social Security could run out of money in just 6 years - even sooner than originally feared, Morningstar: https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20260213226/social-security-could-run-out-of-money-in-just-6-years-even-sooner-than-originally-feared
The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036, Congressional Budget Office: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61882
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us, by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ
Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/3IxEFgy