Social Security and Medicare may experience their own COVID-19 side effects: experts

Over the last year, COVID-19 has been especially devastating for people of retirement age. As of mid-February, those 65 and over accounted for 81% of the pandemic’s deaths in the United States. More than 373,000 older adults succumbed to the new virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Counterintuitive as it might seem, however, the pandemic could actually put even more pressure on Social Security and Medicare — the two giant, financially challenged federal programs that provide retirement and medical benefits to older and disabled Americans. Workers contribute ...