Many companies featured on Money advertise with us. Opinions are our own, but compensation and
in-depth research may determine where and how companies appear. Learn more about how we make money.

In this series, “Social Security Secrets,” experts Larry Kotlikoff and Phil Moeller explain the most important things you need to know about this valuable retirement benefit. Kotlikoff and Moeller are co-authors of the New York Times best-seller Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.

Will Social Security be there for future generations? Some say that the system is broken and that millennials shouldn't rely on Social Security to see them through their retirement. Others say that Social Security will be available, but it won't quite look like it does today. Right now, the government is paying out 100% of the benefits that were promised to current retirees. In a few years though, Social Security will be able to pay out only about 80% of the benefits promised, unless something is done to fix the system.

What does this mean for you? It means that you need to work longer than you maybe originally planned and you need to save as much as you can on your own.