Planning for Retirement in the Face of Potential Social Security Changes - The Motley Fool; AMAC
The Social Security solvency problem is continuing to gain attention in the media, and there seems to be growing optimism that resolution of the long-term deficit situation will soon get congressional attention. But for those striving to build a workable financial plan for their retirement years, and especially for those banking on Social Security as a significant piece of the plan, the unknowns can be problematic.
As The Motley Fool’s Catherine Brock suggests in a post on crossroadstoday.com (access it here), the implications of a setback in the full retirement age can have a significant impact on a segment of the working population “…forced into retirement for circumstances outside their control,” essentially because of the reductions that might be imposed on benefits drawn before full retirement age. Ms. Brock’s post offers thoughts on how to mitigate this implication, and also stresses that what will emerge as regulation modifications in the future is still largely unknown.
As has been stressed in several previous posts on this site, 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. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and current Rep. John 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 would offer some assistance in alleviating at least some of the concern regarding the impact of benefit reductions related to any changes in full retirement age.
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.