Not exactly. I believe it is of value to be precise about this. The Trust Fund does exist. It's value is just shy of $3T. It represents the amount of SS tax collected in excess of the benefits paid plus interest. It is essentially an IOU from Treasury to the SSA. Pragmatically, it represents future debt that Treasury must take on to repay the IOU, which is starting now and will be done in about 12 years assuming Congress does nothing.
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Originally Posted by Paper1
There seems to be a real misconception regarding monies paid into SS and Medicare. These are both pay as you go systems meaning the taxes you and employer paid were used to paid benefits to your parents and grandparents. They died much earlier than we are so the extra money collected was spent as part of general fund and the catchy phrase "Trust Fund" was invented giving many and impression they have been paying into this fund for years and want their just due. Your children and grandchildren are funding your medical care and SS checks, your quarrel is with them. There is no Trust Fund so we do need to start a serious discussion and stop whistling through the graveyard.
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