Social Security costs rising

WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- The annual cost of Social Security benefits is projected to increase through 2034, a U.S. government report said Tuesday.

In 2008, Social Security cost 4.4 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. That is projected to increase to 6.2 percent of GDP in 2034.

The report said the cost is expected to decline to about 5.8 percent of GDP by 2050 and remain at about that level.

The Social Security Administration said the projected 75-year actuarial deficit in the combined Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Fund is 2 percent of taxable payroll, up from 1.7 percent projected in last year's report.

"This increase is due primarily to the recession, slightly lower estimates for real GDP after the economy recovers in 2015, and faster reductions in mortality rates," the report said. "Although the combined OASDI program passes our short-range test of financial adequacy, the Disability Insurance Trust Fund does not; DI program costs have exceeded tax revenue since 2005, and trust fund exhaustion is projected for 2020."