Op-ed: Misery All Around - AMAC & Forbes
Rae Hartley Beck worked for the Social Security Administration (SSA) for six years and currently writes on finance matters. Writing in Forbes here, she shares conversations with current SSA employees who believe a “big mess” will ensue if the U.S. government defaults on its debt. Beck explains that Social Security checks themselves are not at risk in a potential debt ceiling crisis. The issue is with the U.S. Treasury who is tasked with sending the payments to beneficiaries. Treasury sends Social Security payments one month in arrears, meaning the check people receive in June covers benefits for the month of May. If the debt ceiling weren’t raised by June 1 (the likely default date), the Social Security payments due to be sent to beneficiaries in June would most likely still go out. However, if the debt ceiling were not raised by the end of June, Treasury may not have the staff available to make the July payments; it might be entirely shut down. Full article here.