Dipping into the trust fund
Beginning in 2020, Social Security will begin paying out more in benefits than it receives in revenue for the first time since the Social Security trust funds were established in 1983, according to the latest Social Security and Medicare Trustees report. Unless Congress acts, the current $2.8 trillion in excess trust fund revenue accumulated over the past 35 years will be exhausted by 2034, leaving Social Security able to pay only 77% of promised benefits from ongoing FICA taxes.