As of January 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 347,131 US deaths "involving COVID-19."
Of those deaths, 281,179 (81%) were among persons 65 years of age or older.
The average Social Security benefit as of January 2021 is $1,543 per month. That's $18,516 per year.
Which means that COVID-19 has already knocked $5.2 billion per year off the Social Security Administration's future liabilities.
That's not counting Medicare expenditures, Medicaid subsidies for nursing home residents whose money has run out, etc. I had trouble finding exact per-capita Medicare expenditures, but that number looks like it's even bigger than Social Security, in the $19,500 per year range.
So, let's call it, conservatively, a $10 billion per year future expense cut. Not huge in the scheme of those programs, but nothing to sneeze at, either.
Another 40,758 deaths have been in the 55-64 age group. That is, people who paid Social Security and Medicare taxes for several decades but won't be looking for checks or healthcare in the future. More savings!
No, I'm not suggesting that some kind of COVID-19 Wannsee Conference took place in which bureaucrats came up with a Temporary and Partial Solution to Social Security's pending insolvency.
On the other hand, I can see why those bureaucrats weren't terribly interested in a COVID-19 policy aimed at protecting the most vulnerable demographics. Their Ponzi schemes are powered by payors, not payees.
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