Analysis: Trump Campaign Plans & Social Security - AMAC & CRFB
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) notes a typical couple retiring just before Social Security hits insolvency in 2034 faces a $16,500 cut, and neither presidential candidate, despite them both saying they will “protect” the program, has presented plans to fix Social Security’s finances for the long term. CRFB analyzed the Trump campaign’s plans, and each of these below weakens Social Security’s finances:
- Ending taxation of Social Security benefits, which would eliminate a revenue stream currently used to help finance Social Security.
- Ending all taxes on overtime pay and tips, which would reduce payroll tax collection accruing to the Social Security trust funds.
- Imposing large tariffs on imports, which would either increase cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) through higher inflation or reduce taxable payroll.
- Enhancing border security and deporting unauthorized immigrants, which would reduce the number of immigrant workers paying into the Social Security trust funds.
Read the full piece here that provides real numbers on how Donald Trump’s plans affect Social Security long term.
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.