Social Security Solvency: Sounding the Alarm (Again) - The Motley Fool; AMAC
Meaningful Social Security reform has not actively been undertaken since the early 1980s, and the consequences are now evident. The program is now less than 15 years away from exhaustion of its once-considerable cash reserves–in fact, some creditable studies have pinned the date of reckoning at 2028, absent corrective legislative action. So whether it’s 8 years are 15 years, the point remains that time is running out to craft a reasonable solution to the problem. Further, the longer action is deferred, the more severe some of the corrective actions will need to be.
The Motley Fool’s Christy Bieber, in an article posted today on qctimes.com, examines the potential future impact on retirees, characterizing the financial end result as a $16 billion decrease in Social Security’s monthly benefit level (across the board, by the way). With this bleak picture as a backdrop, Ms. Bieber suggests voters–those already retired and those hoping to retire–consider two key actions in this election year:
- Check every candidate’s record on Social Security before voting.
- Let your representatives know you want action to shore up Social Security before it’s too late.
Along with the second item above, voters might consider researching the key Social Security reform proposals active in Congress, many of which can be found here. Also, these research efforts should take a look at the proposed legislative framework offered by the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) via its “Social Security Guarantee.” AMAC steadfastly believes that Social Security must be preserved and modernized, and has proposed a bipartisan compromise. This approach takes selected portions of bills introduced by the late Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and current Rep. John Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s own well-researched ideas. 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. Read AMAC’s plan here…