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When it comes to Social Security, the question on most people's lips is: "Will it still be there for me when I retire?"
The answer is generally yes. But the system will pay less in benefits if nothing is done to repair it.
In April, the Social Security Administration said that the program's trust funds will be depleted in 2035. At that time, only about 80% of promised benefits will be payable. That estimate adds one year to previous projections.
It's a problem that will require either higher taxes, lower benefits or a combination of both to repair the long-term deficit.
"There is no silver bullet," Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, wrote in a May research report[1].
Top Democratic presidential candidates have come up with their own proposals to fix the program[2].
Meanwhile, researchers who have spent countless hours researching Social Security have their own ideas for how to shore it up.
Alicia Munnell: Preserve current benefits
Today's retirees often face an uphill financial battle.
In fact, many individuals approaching retirement have less than $150,000 saved in their retirement accounts. What's more, half of workers do not have access to a 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan at all.
Meanwhile, traditional pensions, a once common employer-provided retirement income stream, have largely become extinct for most workers.
"There's not a lot of resources for people other than Social Security," Munnell said.
Consequently, Munnell is a proponent of preserving today's Social Security program, while making some key changes to it.
"I am a big fan...