Actuarial status of the OASI and DI Trust Funds

This article summarizes the current financial and actuarial status of the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) program, as shown in the 1985 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees. The Trustees note that the combined assets of the OASI and DI programs will be sufficient to pay OASDI benefits on time well into the next century based on all four sets of economic and demographic assumptions. Based on the pessimistic assumptions, the DI program could become unable to pay benefits on time by the end of 1987, but this problem could be prevented by a reallocation of contribution rates between the OASI and DI programs. For the long range--the next 75 years--the Trustees estimate that the OASDI program is in close actuarial balance based on intermediate assumptions--that is, the average annual income rate is estimated to be between 95 percent and 105 percent of the average annual cost rate during that period. The long-range actuarial deficit based on the intermediate (Alternative II-B) assumptions represents about 3 percent of the average annual cost rate for the program.