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Congress must confront Social Security's looming financial issues! - Scripps News
Here at the AMAC Foundation we’ve been aware of, and sounding the alarm about, an issue that Congress has been warned about for many years (decades actually) - Social Security needs reform because its Trust Funds will run dry in 2032. Originally this was thought to be an issue for 2035, but as Congress has continued to defer any corrective action, the problem has only grown worse. Indeed, certain recent Congressional actions have actually accelerated the date of Social Security’s insolvency (think about H.R.82). That legislation, inaccurately dubbed the “Social Security Fairness Act,” actually worsened Social Security’s financial deficit by about $198 billion.
Be that as it may, Congress must act soon to reform Social Security so as to avoid an across the board 23% cut in everyone’s monthly benefit, barely 6 year from now. The good news is that they have been made aware of the options needed to fix the problem; the bad news is that they will need to actually work in a bipartisan manner to avoid the projected 2032 SS debacle, Can they do it? Yes, we believe they can, and so do the authors of this Scripps News article (Emily Hanford-Ostmann and Stephanie Liebergen). Click here to read the analysis of Social Security’s financial dilemma. But prudence should also prevail - meaning you should also try to create alternative sources of retirement income.
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. See AMAC’s proposal for Social Security reform here.
This posting is presented for informational purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. Any opinions or interpretations presented are either those of the original author or, in the case of articles authored by the AMAC Foundation, are the opinions of AMAC Foundation staff, originally trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA) and certified via the AMAC Foundation. Any links included in the article are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (https://amacfoundation.org/services/) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Because we are a non-profit organization, there is no charge for these services.