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SOUTHERN COLORADO -- New Congressional projections reveal the Social Security fund will be gone by the year 2037, leaving many to wonder how they will make a living after they retire.

The reason for the decrease in the fund is that Social Security is already paying more in benefits to those who are retiring than it is collecting from payroll taxes. If the latest projections are accurate, anyone who is 39 years old or younger won't be able to collect benefits when the traditional retirement age of 65 comes around.

In Colorado, it is projected that nearly one million residents will be at least 65 years old in 2037. From the years 2000-2030, the biggest gain in Colorado population is expected to be in the 65+ age group. In 2000 there were only 416,073 people at that age, but census reports indicate a 129 percent increase in the next 30 years.

This is not the first time officials have said the Social Security fund is in trouble. Many people have already planned alternatives, such as continuing to work after the age of 65, or investing in an IRA.

A struggling economy has left more people out of work, which is the cause for the payroll tax reduction. At the same time, more people are applying for benefits, and thev baby boomers are close to retirement.

According to treasury officials, the government has actually been running a surplus on Social Security for most of the recent decades but have borrowed that money to fund other programs. They said the goverment's last year of surplus is expected to be 2015. After that, they will be in a fund deficit every year until it runs out.