Debunking the Rumor of Social Security’s Impending Demise - 401(k) Specialist Magazine
Mainstream media is consistent in many ways, with many of the more prevalent headlines suggesting that Social Security is destined to vaporize about a decade from now. Most folks who have paid attention understand the fallacy in this suggestion, but the real concern is the way these headlines can shape the perceptions of younger workers while at the same time stoking fear among those likely to depend on Social Security for retirement.
In an interesting analysis, the Center for Retirement Research (CRB) at Boston College recently published a brief upending the rumor of Social Security’s total annihilation. The brief clarifies the issue by explaining the trust fund depletion problem and illustrates the program’s financial picture after full depletion–if Congressional intervention does not correct the situation before that point. Using two contrasting visuals, the clarification exposes how correctly–and fully–explaining Social Security’s financial picture can change opinions about the future.
401(k) Specialist magazine Managing Editor Amanda Umpierrez, in a post on their website, offers an analysis of how the CRB approach changes perceptions about Social Security’s future. But while perceptions can change on the magnitude of the problem, it remains critical that the need for Social Security reform stay top-of-mind so that corrections can be made in time to avoid unnecessary disruption of this critical senior support program. The longer it takes to achieve a resolution, the more traumatic the “fixes” will need to be.
Considering the future, keep in mind that the 118th Congress, like many of the preceding congressional sessions, continues to see proposals to reform Social Security in the face of the insolvency dilemma. 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 indexed 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.