They loaned the money to the federal govt, which means SSA is collecting interest on cash just sitting there.

The funny thing is there was a book (probably not the only one, but the one I remember) written in ~1994 talking about how SS would be gone just in time for my generation to collect it. (Born in 1976) And every time a Democrat has been elected since 1994, suddenly the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are pushed right to the top of every newspaper and news website. In 2009, they were saying Medicare will go bust in 2017 and SS in 2024. From 2016 to 2020, nobody talked about the solvency of these two programs. Now magically, Medicare and SS are on the brink of disaster again, but…not for another 12 years.

Folks, there is no disaster. The money is available. Do you want to know how I know that? It’s because old people vote. The money will always be found for old people because if it isn’t, the politicians get removed.