How Safe Are your Social Security Benefits? - US News & World Report
Well, if you listen to all of the media reports these days, you might very well be concerned amount the safety of this crucial senior benefit program! On any given day, you may read about how “Social Security is going bankrupt” or “Social Security is just one big Ponzi scheme,” or some other “doomsday” report about the precarious health of our most important U.S. retirement program. And, the fact is, that Social Security is, indeed, facing some financial issues in the ensuring decade. But, when compared with the status of other countries with similar programs, the American Social Security program is actually doing fairly well, according to this US News and World Report article by Tim Smart. In fact, the U.S. program is among the top ten of countries with a Social Security program, according to this article.
Keep in mind, however, that U.S. Social Security will require reform soon to maintain its solvency status. Amid the “good news” reflected in the article, we can’t lose sight of the need for Congress to reform Social Security soon to ensure benefits to all for future generations.
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 to meet the demands of 21st-century economics. AMAC’s position is that this can be achieved without payroll tax increases via relatively slight program modifications, including cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process changes and modifications to the formulas for calculation of payments to 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) improved survivor benefits, (4) eliminating the reduction in benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age; and (5) improved 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.