Social Security Priorities for the Next Administration - Reuters
Reuters columnist Mark Miller sets the Social Security stage for the next presidential administration by outlining, in a post on reuters.com, a set of six issues that need to be addressed in priority order. At the top of the list is, as expected–or at least hoped for–is the solvency issue, something that has been the subject of some serious can-kicking for quite some time now. Most know that the clock is ticking faster every year as the program hurtles toward exhaustion of its financial reserves, a point some sources say will be reached later this decade. Read Mark Miller’s post here…
As Miller underscores in his post, Social Security will be forced–absent corrective action–to reduce payments across the board by about 80% at the point of reserve fund exhaustion, something that would serve as a catastrophe for many seniors dependent on monthly benefits to survive. During the presidential campaign, the Biden-Harris platform vowed to tackle the problem by imposing a selective tax hike on higher income workers, although that approach serves only as a partial solution. Many believe that broader reform measures are needed to ensure the longevity of the nation’s most extensive senior benefit program.
The remainder of Miller’s post describes five additional areas where reform attention is needed, ranging from expansion of benefits to resolving the confusion surrounding President Trump’s executive memorandum on FICA tax deferral. The list also includes prioritizing the re-opening and potential modernization of SSA field offices, addressing what some call the restrictive rules on filing for Social Security disability benefits, and resolving the COVID-notch glitch that interrupted earnings has created for those turning age 60 this year.
No matter how you cut it, Social Security reform is a big–and very important–deal affecting a major segment of the U.S. population. It’s not a new issue, either. In fact, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) has been advocating for Social Security reform for nearly a decade, and has put forth a comprehensive proposal designed to preserve this important program for current and near retirees and to also modernize it for successive generations. For more information on this proposal, check out this post from a week ago.