Strengthening Social Security: By the Numbers
| Year Baby Boomers begin retiring (1): | 2008 |
| Year Social Security goes into the red (2): | 2017 |
| Year Social Security trust fund will be exhausted (3): | 2041 |
| Number of workers for every retiree in 1950 (4): | 16 |
| Number of workers for every retiree today (5): | 3.3 |
| Number of workers for each beneficiary when today's 20-year-olds retire (6): | 2 |
| According to Washington Post/ABC survey, the percentage of Americans who say Social Security system is heading for a crisis (7): | 72% |
| According to Ayres, McHenry and Associates, the percentage of union workers who support voluntary personal retirement accounts (8): | 60% |
1,2,3 - The 2005 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds
4,5,6 "The Demographics of Social Security," http://www.strengtheningsocialsecurity.gov/
7 March 10-13, 2005, 1,001 randomly selected adults nationwide; + or – 3 percent.
8 March 6-10, 2005, 600 union members; margin of error of + or - 4 percent.
