Social Security Reform: Debunking the Fear Mongering Following the RSC Proposal - Yahoo Finance
Rumors and speculation about the Social Security intentions behind the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) Fiscal Year 2025 Budget proposal–titled “Fiscal Sanity to Save America”–have blossomed in the days following its release last week. Labeling the fast-moving rhetoric as “a lot of fear-mongering,” Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Rick Newman discussed the likely course of Social Security reform yesterday in a televised segment of Yahoo’s Wealth!, the organization’s personal finance-focused commentary program.
Newman made note of the simple fact that any substantive changes to Social Security’s design would require Congressional action. Legislation would need to be proposed for debate, and laws would need to be enacted to achieve any changes resulting from the legislative process. On the much-publicized suggested change to the full retirement age, he recapped the approach taken via the 1983 Social Security amendments which phased the later retirement ages in over 30 years, and suggested that a similar approach might be taken again this time around.
In reality, Newman observed, “When we debate how to fix Social Security, people are going to know what’s happening.” He also acknowledged the reality that anticipated stalemates could lead to the solvency problem being fixed “at the very last minute.”
The Wealth! video segment can be viewed here, along with a transcript of the five-minute discussion.