Biden & Social Security Reform: Numbers Don’t Add Up - AMAC & The Motley Fool
Sean Williams highlights the Social Security Board of Trustees Report of 2023 detailing a $22.4 trillion funding obligation shortfall through 2097. This means, in plain English, there isn’t enough revenue to be collected over the long-term to sufficiently cover benefit outlays. Demographics are the problem. Reforms center on payroll tax increases and/or changes to benefit payments or starting ages to reflect much longer longevity. Based on a number of studies that have examined President Biden’s solutions, it appears his Social Security changes seem unrealistic at providing long term solvency. His headline proposal is taxing income above $400,000 (currently taxes stop at $160,200). But other points increase benefits, which is counterintuitive to a program facing severe financial strain and benefit cuts across the board to all in about a decade. Read full article by Williams here.
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.