Social Security faces looming benefit cuts. Can the program be saved?

Social Security's trust fund is projected to run out of money in just six years, triggering automatic cuts in retirement and disability benefits. Yet experts say the program's financial problems are fixable — if lawmakers are willing to make difficult choices. The latest trustees' report found that Social Security's finances are being strained by an aging population, lower immigration and tax changes. But unlike some fiscal challenges, the retirement program's funding gap can be closed through a combination of higher taxes, lower benefits or both, according to policy analysts. In other words, the debate is less about whether Social Security can be saved than which Americans should bear the cost of saving it. "It's a simple math problem — it's not a simple political problem," Karen Glenn, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, said in a recent conference call to discuss the program's finances. "We need to either raise scheduled revenue, reduce scheduled benefits or some combination of the two." A common misconception is that Social Security's insolvency would mean it would no longer offer benefits to the more than 70 million Americans who rely on the program for income. …