A Quick Recap of What Candidates Biden and Trump Say About Social Security - Yahoo Finance/GoBankingRates
Most recently, the Biden and Trump presidential campaigns appear to be marching in step concerning their plans for addressing Social Security’s financial problems. Simply put, both have advocated for a “hands-off” approach, although both have also vowed to “protect” the program.
While Trump has shied away from providing any specific or realistic thoughts on program changes to deal with the deficit situation already in place, or the looming inability to pay scheduled benefits in about eight years, Biden some time ago went on record with a four-point plan. Biden’s plan would involve tax increases, cost-of-living adjustment changes, primary insurance amount adjustments, and an elevated special minimum for lower-wage earners. Biden’s “starter set” of changes, however, didn’t pass muster with some pundits and financial folks (see prior article on this site), so at some point it’s reasonable to expect additional sharpening of the Democrat thought processes relevant to Social Security.
GoBankingRates’ Vance Cariaga provides some conjecture on the rhetoric that has surfaced thus far during this campaign year, and discusses the concerns that have arisen among seniors to make “Social Security one of the most important issues this year.” As an example of the absence of concrete plans, Cariaga quotes Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, who comments, “I think they have been incredibly specific about what they won’t do, which is touch benefits, but they have not been specific about what they will do.” Click here to read the Cariaga post.
It’s expected that details will eventually emerge as the campaign process winds toward November. In the meantime, many organizations are busy focusing on the best ways to address the long-term problem. 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 rate 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 the thresholds 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.