Social Security Report

CRFB White Paper: “Principles for Social Security Reform” - AMAC & CRFB

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan and non-profit organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact, has issued an important white paper this week. The group has been advocating for reform of Social Security for years and explains that insolvency is just a decade away. The paper states a responsible reform package should abide by these five principles:

1. Strengthen Social Security as soon as possible to extend the life of the trust funds. Begin to phase in benefit and/or revenue adjustments as quickly as possible to strengthen Social Security’s finances. The sooner these changes are made, the less painful they will be – already we have waited to the point that many participants will be affected when they didn’t have to be.
2. Support the most vulnerable, who depend on the program. Enact reforms that avoid the abrupt across-the-board benefit cut projected under current law, while protecting benefits for those who rely on the program most and focusing adjustments on those who can best afford them.
3. Promote stronger economic growth and productive aging. Remove work and savings disincentives in the current program, while enacting reforms to support older workers and workers with disabilities, enhance retirement flexibility, encourage savings, and promote economic growth.
4. Rely on honest accounting, avoiding gimmicks and cost-shifting. Improve solvency by reducing costs and/or increasing revenue collection, not by shifting costs outside of Social Security, supporting further borrowing, pushing costs into the future, or relying on arbitrary expirations.
5. Don’t criticize others’ solutions, especially if you don’t have your own.

Read the full paper here.

The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized.  This can be achieved with no tax increases by changing cost of living adjustments, the retirement age, and delayed credits.  AMAC advocates for a bipartisan compromise, “The Social Security Guarantee Act,” taking selected portions of bills introduced by former Rep. Johnson (R-TX) and current Rep. Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s own research.  One component is Social Security PLUS, a voluntary plan to allow all earners to have more income at retirement.  This component is intended to appeal especially to younger workers.  AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved and modernized and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in DC, meeting with a great many congressional offices and their staffs over the past several years.  Read AMAC’s plan here.

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