An Onerous Task for Congress: Social Security Reform - TheStreet
Social Security’s Trust Fund reserves are forecast to be fully depleted by the end of the year 2032. If that happens, everyone then receiving monthly Social Security payments will have those payments cut by an estimated 22%. What would that actually mean to seniors who depend so heavily on Social Security?
Well, obviously that would be life shattering, throwing many into poverty, as articulated in this article by Jeffrey Quiggle at TheStreet.com. Many who follow this looming crisis, especially at the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) and the AMAC Foundation, know that the consequences of Congressional inaction would be financially devastating to millions of Americans! And that’s why reforming the nations most important retirement program is so high on our agenda here at AMAC.
Sadly, Congress has ignored this issue for many years. But it is now time for Congress to stop kicking the can down the road. Insolvency of the Social Security program (when SS must cut monthly benefits) is a short 6 years away. And the longer the problem is avoided, the harder it will be for Congress o fix. That message, too, is clearly spelled out in this article at TheStreet.
While some other organizations only verbally lament this looming crisis, AMAC and the AMAC Foundation are actively engaged in providing Congress with a possible solution. As an example of leading thinking on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized to serve future generations. AMAC’s position is that this can be achieved without payroll tax increases through relatively minor program modifications, including changes to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process and modifications to the formulas for calculating initial benefits for higher-income beneficiaries. Changes to the age for maximizing benefits are included in AMAC’s position, along with (1) an increase in the thresholds where benefits are subject to income tax; (2) indexing of these thresholds annually to account for inflation; (3) changing the taxable maximum formula to address the unintended loss of revenue; (4) improving survivor benefits, (5) eliminating the reduction in benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age; and (6) improving savings tools for future retirees, including a savings account that builds estate value. 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.