Social Security's shortfall over the next 75 years is slightly less than the estimated cost over that period of extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts just for the top 1 percent of households.
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Trustees: Social Security Shortfall Manageable, Medicare’s More Daunting

What the 2008 Trustees’ Report Shows about Social Security

Robert Greenstein on the Trustees Reports

Is Social Security working?

Yes.  Social Security benefits raise nearly 13 million American seniors out of poverty, greatly reducing the share of America’s elderly population that is poor. 

Social Security benefits also raise 1 million American children out of poverty.  When both the breadth and severity of children’s poverty are considered, Social Security does more to reduce child poverty than any other program.

Does the talk of Social Security “bankruptcy” mean the program is in danger of disappearing completely?

No.  While Social Security faces a significant long-term funding shortfall, the Social Security Trustees report that it will be able to pay full benefits until 2041 and about 75 percent of promised benefits after that, if no changes are made to the program.  

Are radical changes needed to maintain Social Security?

No.  The Social Security shortfall over the next 75 years is about one-third as big as the cost of extending the recent tax cuts during that period.  It can be closed through a mix of moderate benefit changes and new revenues phased in over a number of years