“Baby Boomers” and their Impact on Social Security - GoBankingRates
A well-reasoned analysis of Social Security’s looming financial issues will reveal that a significant part of the problem is that the ratio of worker-contributing to beneficiaries-collecting is declining. Indeed, the program’s basic design is that those currently working fund benefits for those now receiving, so the ratio of workers to beneficiaries is key to program funding. And while many pundits are quick to point out that the number of “baby boomers” now exiting the work force to become Social Security recipients is a large part of the problem, it is important to remember that baby boomers retiring isn’t the only drain on the system. True, an exodus of “boomers” from the workforce exacerbates Social Security’s financial issues, but there are other equally important factors to consider as well – declining birthrates, and increased life expectancy among them. Nevertheless, retiring baby boomers do put an additional strain on Social Security’s finances, as discussed in this GoBankingRates article by Sean Fisher. The article correctly opines that cuts may be on the horizon for Social Security, so an increase in saving and investing now would be wise.
As an example of the leading thoughts on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved without tax increases by slight modifications to cost of living adjustments and payments to high income beneficiaries plus gradually increasing the full (but not early) retirement age. AMAC Action, AMAC’s advocacy arm, supports an increase in the threshold where benefits are taxed and then indexing for inflation, and calls for eliminating the reduction in people’s benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved for current and successive generations and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in D.C., meeting with many congressional offices and staff over the past decade.