Latest News
A $5,000 check idea is considered ill-advised
Our headline post today at Social Security Report discusses in depth the $5,000 payment now in exchange for delaying Social Security retirement checks later (by about three months) idea. Dan Caplinger of The Motley Fool reviews the concept here and gives it a big thumbs down. “By inviting desperate Americans to give up Social Security benefits down the road, the proposal will only trade current financial pain for future challenges,” he states. He believes too many people would grab $5,000 now without fully thinking through the consequences. Caplinger also notes this isn’t the first time an idea like this has been proposed. He discusses the 2017 idea related to student loans, though that one never became law. Full article here.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) is leery of proposals that depletes the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund sooner than is currently predicted (2034, though likely sooner with the pandemic). AMAC believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized by making modest changes in cost of living adjustments and the retirement age, with no tax increases on workers. AMAC supports a bipartisan compromise, “The Social Security Guarantee Act,” taking portions of bills introduced by former Rep. Johnson (R-TX) and current Rep. Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s own research. One component is Social Security PLUS, a new, voluntary plan that would allow all earners to have more income available at retirement. This component is intended to appeal especially to younger workers. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved and modernized and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in DC, meeting with many congressional offices and staff over the past several years. Read AMAC’s plan here.