Join AARP Utah for an important conversation on Social Security. We will discuss the current state of the program and potential steps to ensure solvency.

Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security program release a report on the current and projected financial status of the program. The 2024 report shows the Old Age Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100% of scheduled benefits until 2034.

From then onwards, the reserves will be depleted, and the program income will only be able to pay for 77% of scheduled benefits. What does this mean for you?

As of 2024, more than 445,000 Utahns receive Social Security benefits. Benefits they diligently earned throughout their lives. These hard-earned benefits inject over $8.6 billion into the state’s economy each year.

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10333 S Jordan Gateway South Jordan, Utah 84095

Moderator: Heidi Hatch, KUTV Anchor & Reporter

Heidi Hatch has been recognized for her reporting and anchoring with an Emmy covering the Brian Head wildfire that ravaged 100 square miles of pristine forestland in 2017.

Heidi joined the KUTV 2News family in 2011 as an anchor and reporter, immediately jumping into the 2012 presidential election coverage. On election night, Heidi brought 2News viewers live coverage from inside Mitt Romney's headquarters in Boston. In 2016, she followed the historical primary elections to Cleveland and Philadelphia for the party conventions. Most recently she moderated Utah’s first prime time Gubernatorial debate. You can listen to her weekly political podcast Take 2 on your favorite podcast platform.

Panelist: Robert Griffiths, Adjunct Professor, Brigham Young University

Robert Griffiths is an adjunct professor of political science at Brigham Young University. A retired diplomat, he spent 34 years as an economic officer for the U.S. Department of State. He is a BYU graduate and holds a masters degree in public policy from Harvard.

Prior to teaching at BYU, he taught economics in Washington D.C. at the Eisenhower School for advanced studies for military and U.S. government officers. He now lives in Provo with his wife Jeannie. They are the parents of three and the grandparents of 13.

Panelist: Dianna Cannon, Adjunct Professor, University of Utah

Dianna Cannon is the managing partner at Cannon Disability Law, P.C., where she specializes in Social Security Disability law. Ms. Cannon is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law where she teaches Disability Law and serves on the Board of Trustees. Her book, Social Security Disability Claims, Volumes 1 & 2, is updated yearly and published by Thomson Reuters. She is a sustaining member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimant's Representatives and a member of the Utah, Nevada, and California State Bar Associations.

She served as president of the Women Lawyers of Utah and as a Contributing Editor to the Utah Trial Journal. She received her J.D. from the University of Utah College of law in 1992, where she was a Note and Comment Editor for the Journal of Contemporary Law.

Click the icon below to RSVP for the event!

(There will be free refreshments and ice cream for all attendees!)

Read More: AARP ONLINE RESOURCES

• FAQ on Social Security
• Social Security in Utah by the Numbers
• Social Security Resource Center
• AARP Social Security Blog
• PPI State Fact Sheet
• Social Security Calculator
• Online Learning Series
• Ask the Expert Tool